Photo/Illutration Shoji Maekawa speaks to reporters on March 6 in Kanazawa after the initial hearing of his retrial for a 1986 murder case. (Tatsuro Kanai)

KANAZAWA—A man who served seven years for the murder of a teenage girl is likely to be acquitted in his retrial as prosecutors failed to present any new evidence to support his guilt.

At the initial hearing of the retrial on March 6 at the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court, the defense reiterated the innocence of Shoji Maekawa, 59, who was convicted of murdering a 15-year-old girl in Fukui in 1986.

A verdict will be handed down on July 18.

The case centered on the testimonies of Maekawa’s acquaintances who claimed to have seen him with bloodstains on the day of the murder.

The Fukui District Court ruled Maekawa innocent in 1990, citing doubts over the witnesses' credibility.

However, the Kanazawa branch overturned that ruling, convicting Maekawa and sentencing him to seven years in prison. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction in 1997.

The retrial, granted last October after a second request, was prompted by new evidence disclosed by prosecutors.

This included a TV broadcast that the witnesses claimed to have watched on the night they saw Maekawa stained with blood. They cited the broadcast as support for their memories.

However, it was later discovered that the TV show had actually aired on a different day, casting doubt on the reliability of the witnesses' accounts.

The court also acknowledged a suspected deal that a key witness made with investigators to provide testimony in exchange for a reduced sentence for his own drug-related charges.

During the March 6 hearing, the prosecution admitted that it had been aware of the incorrect broadcast date during the original lower court trial, pledging to correct the appeal filed with the high court to reflect this.

However, the prosecutors argued that the witness testimonies were mutually supportive, maintaining that Maekawa was guilty.

The defense team condemned the police for relying on false testimonies and improperly influencing witnesses.

They argued that the evidence against Maekawa was insufficient and that the original not guilty ruling should have been upheld, or that he should never have been indicted in the first place.

With no new evidence presented by the prosecution, a verdict of not guilty is highly anticipated.

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