A Japanese man's acquittal in his retrial over a 1966 quadruple murder case was finalized Wednesday as prosecutors waived their right to appeal, marking an end to his family's decades-long struggle for justice.
Iwao Hakamata, 88, was acquitted by the Shizuoka District Court on Sept. 26 after spending nearly half a century on death row before new evidence led to his release in 2014. He was recognized that year as the world's longest-serving death row prisoner.
His case marked the fifth time in postwar Japan that retrials have resulted in acquittals after the death penalty was given, with all rulings finalized without an appeal by prosecutors.
The local public prosecutors' office has completed procedures to waive its right to appeal a day ahead of the deadline, officials said.
"We feel sorry that Mr. Hakamata was placed in an unstable legal status for a long time," Takayoshi Tsuda, chief of the Shizuoka Prefectural Police, told reporters Wednesday morning.
His remark followed a similar statement issued the previous day by Prosecutor General Naomi Unemoto apologizing to Hakamata. The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office plans to conduct a review of the handling of procedures for the retrial and other issues.
The former professional boxer was a live-in employee at a miso maker when he was arrested in 1966 for allegedly killing the firm's senior managing director, his wife and two of their children. They were found dead from stab wounds at their house in Shizuoka Prefecture, which had been burned down.
Indicted for murder, robbery and arson, his death sentence was finalized in 1980.
With his mental state having deteriorated during his years of incarceration on death row, his sister Hideko, 91, appeared in court hearings on behalf of her brother in the retrial, which began in October 2023.
The following is a chronology of major events related to the 1966 murder of four people in Shizuoka Prefecture.
June 30, 1966 -- Four members of family, including two children, found murdered in ruins of miso processing company executive's burned-down house in Shizuoka Prefecture.
August -- Former professional boxer Iwao Hakamata arrested on suspicion of murder-robbery.
August 1967 -- Bloodstained clothing discovered in factory's miso tank.
September 1968 -- Hakamata sentenced to death.
December 1980 -- Supreme Court finalizes capital punishment.
April 1981 -- Hakamata files first appeal for retrial.
August 1994 -- Shizuoka District Court turns down appeal, prompting defense team to appeal to Tokyo High Court.
August 2004 -- Tokyo High Court turns down appeal, prompting defense team to file special appeal following month.
March 2008 -- Supreme Court turns down special appeal.
April -- Hakamata's sister Hideko files second appeal.
March 27, 2014 -- Shizuoka District Court decides to reopen case, Hakamata freed.
March 31 -- Prosecutors appeal decision to reopen case.
June 11, 2018 -- Tokyo High Court rules against reopening case.
June 18 -- Defense team files special appeal to Supreme Court.
Dec. 22, 2020 -- Supreme Court sends case back to Tokyo High Court.
March 13, 2023 -- Tokyo High Court rules in favor of reopening case.
March 20 -- Prosecutors give up filing special appeal, ruling for retrial finalized.
Oct. 27 -- Shizuoka District Court holds first hearing of retrial.
May 22, 2024 -- Prosecutors seek death penalty in final hearing.
Sept. 26 -- Hakamata acquitted by Shizuoka District Court.
Oct. 8 -- Prosecutors announce no appeal of acquittal.
Oct. 9 -- Hakamata's acquittal finalized.
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