Photo/Illutration Iwao Hakamata and his older sister, Hideko, on Sept. 29, 2024 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

SHIZUOKA—A court ordered the government to pay around 217 million yen ($1.44 million) to former death row inmate Iwao Hakamata, the largest amount awarded under the wrongful incarceration compensation system, his lawyers said.

The Shizuoka District Court recognized the “extremely severe mental and physical suffering” Hakamata endured during his decades behind bars. It awarded the maximum available compensation of 12,500 yen per day as requested.

Hakamata, now 89, was sentenced to death when he was convicted of murdering four family members here in 1966.

He was finally acquitted in a retrial in September.

The compensation ruling highlighted that Hakamata was detained for 47 years and seven months, including 33 years after his death sentence was finalized.

His retrial was ordered after a court said evidence used to gain the murder conviction, namely bloodstained clothing, was likely fabricated.

“Since investigators have fabricated evidence in this death penalty case, it’s only reasonable that the highest compensation amount was awarded,” said Hideyo Ogawa, who heads the defense team.

In the debate over the compensation amount, the Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office criticized a perceived flaw in the retrial ruling that acknowledged the fabrication of evidence by investigators.

Shizuoka prosecutors argued that the ruling partly relied on accounts that clearly contradict the timeline of events and the context provided for the evidence.

However, the court dismissed this argument, stating it “could only be interpreted as an attempt to disregard the fact of evidence fabrication.”

The defense team said it is preparing a separate state compensation lawsuit against police and prosecutors over investigative misconduct.

Additionally, the lawyers plan to sue Prosecutor General Naomi Unemoto for defamation, citing her statement made upon the decision not to appeal Hakamata’s acquittal.

In the statement released in October, Unemoto expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with the court’s ruling in the retrial.

Her comments upset Hakamata’s supporters and the broader public, who accused her of continuing to imply that he is guilty.

Related News