Iwao Hakamata

Hakamata was born on 10 March 1936 in the town of Yūtō (present-day Chūō-ku, Hamamatsu), Shizuoka Prefecture. He has an older sister, Hideko; his older brother Shigeji died in 2001.{{cite news|title=Sister's long years of support finally pay off|date=27 March 2014|work=The Japan Times|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/27/national/sisters-long-years-of-support-finally-pay-off/|accessdate=29 March 2014|archive-date=3 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803083100/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/27/national/sisters-long-years-of-support-finally-pay-off/|url-status=dead}} From 1959 to 1961, Hakamata fought in 29 professional boxing matches. A featherweight, he was ranked as high as sixth in his weight class.{{cite web|url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/2931521.html|date=1 August 2005|title=On Death Row in Japan: Iwao Hakamata's long wait|work=Policy Review|publisher=Hoover Institution, Stanford University|accessdate=27 March 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609170229/http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/2931521.html|archivedate=9 June 2010}}

He finished his career with a 16–11–2 record, including one win by TKO. All of his losses were on points.{{cite web|title=Iwao Hakamata – Boxer|url=http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=122031&cat=boxer|publisher=BoxRec|accessdate=27 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223055613/http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=122031&cat=boxer|archive-date=23 December 2014|url-status=dead}} After his boxing career, he worked at a Shizuoka-based miso manufacturer.

On 30 June 1966, there was a fire at the home of one of Hakamata's bosses. According to Hakamata, he helped extinguish the fire only to find the bodies of the executive, his wife, and two children, all stabbed to death. About ¥200,000 in cash was stolen from the victims' residence.

Hakamata was interrogated and, in August 1966, he was arrested based on his confession and a tiny amount of blood and gasoline found on a pair of pajamas he owned. According to his lawyers, Hakamata was interrogated a total of 264 hours, for as many as 16 hours a session, over 23 days to obtain the confession. They added that he was denied water or toilet breaks during the interrogation.

At his trial, Hakamata retracted the confession, saying police had kicked and clubbed him to obtain it, and pleaded not guilty.

"I could do nothing but crouch down on the floor trying to keep from defecating," he later told his sister. "One of the interrogators put my thumb onto an ink pad, drew it to a written confession record and ordered me, 'Write your name here!' [while] shouting at me, kicking me and wrenching my arm."

After his appeal was denied in 1980, Hakamata obtained a new team of lawyers. In 1981, they filed a request for a retrial, asking for the physical evidence to be re-examined. In the investigation, it was determined the alleged murder weapon was the wrong size to produce the stab wounds, that a door supposedly used to enter the home was actually locked, and that the bloody pants were too small to have been worn by Hakamata.

Backed by the {{ill|Japanese Federation of Bar Associations|lt=|ja|日本弁護士連合会}} (JFBA), Hakamata's lawyers concluded the first trial had failed to establish that any of the clothing belonged to him.{{cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080326a2.html|title=40-year death-row inmate's retrial nixed|work=The Japan Times|date=26 March 2008|accessdate=25 August 2010}} In August 1994, after 13 years of gathering evidence, the request was heard and denied by the Shizuoka District Court. In 2000, an attempt was made to extract DNA from the bloody clothing, but available techniques did not allow for any to be detected.{{cite news|title=DNA tests for ex-boxer on death row prove futile|date=13 July 2000|work=Kyodo News International|publisher=The Free Library|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DNA+tests+for+ex-boxer+on+death+row+prove+futile.-a063514759|accessdate=29 March 2014}} The Tokyo High Court upheld the retrial denial in August 2004.

In November 2006, 500 supporters, including world champion boxers Koichi Wajima and Katsuo Tokashiki, submitted letters to the Supreme Court asking for a retrial.{{cite news|title=Calls mount for retrial of boxer 38 years on death row|work=The Japan Times|agency=Kyodo News|date=21 November 2006|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2006/11/21/news/calls-mount-for-retrial-of-boxer-38-years-on-death-row/|accessdate=30 March 2014}} In March 2007, Norimichi Kumamoto, the head of the three judge panel who had originally convicted Hakamata, came out in support of Hakamata's innocence. He stated that he had doubted the authenticity of the confession and believed Hakamata to be innocent. He failed to persuade his two more senior colleagues, resulting in the split judgment for conviction. He eventually resigned his position out of guilt for the conviction.{{cite news|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20070703a3.html |title=Detention House Says No _ Ex-judge denied visit to inmate| work= The Japan Times|date=3 July 2007|accessdate=25 August 2010}}

The revelation came in spite of a strong tradition against publicly revealing discussions between judges, and it resulted in Kumamoto being highly criticized. "I'm glad I spoke up", he said. "I wish I had said it earlier, and maybe something might have changed." He tried to visit Hakamata in prison to apologize personally, but his request was denied.

After Kumamoto's statement, a campaign to retry Hakamata gained momentum, led by Amnesty International and the Japan Pro Boxing Association. American boxer Rubin Carter, who served 20 years on murder charges that were eventually overturned, and British actor Jeremy Irons spoke out on Hakamata's behalf. A charity rally organized by the Pro Boxing Association attracted 1,300 supporters. Kumamoto personally submitted a statement to the Supreme Court in support of a retrial.

In 2008, the high court elected to hear Hakamata's request. On 25 March 2008, the high court denied the request, stating that neither the original or new evidence provided any reasonable doubt of Hakamata's guilt. One of the boxer's lawyers, Hideyo Ogawa, said it was a regrettable "decision handed down without much thought". The JFBA called the decision an extremely deplorable miscarriage of justice.{{cite web|title=Comments on the Decision by the Supreme Court on Retrial Case filed by Mr. Iwao Hakamata|date=25 March 2008|author=Seigoh Hirayama|publisher=The Japanese Federation of Bar Associations|accessdate=29 March 2014|url=http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/en/document/statements/year/2008/20080325.html}}

In April 2010, 57 members of parliament formed the "Federation of Diet Members to Save the Condemned Iwao Hakamata". The group was chaired by Seishu Makino and included members of multiple political parties. They petitioned the Minister of Justice to introduce a moratorium on the execution of Hakamata.{{cite news|script-title=ja:袴田巌死刑囚を救援する議員連盟が発足 ── 死刑執行の停止などを訴える|date=15 April 2010|work=The Journal|url=http://www.the-journal.jp/contents/newsspiral/2010/04/post_552.html|accessdate=29 March 2014|language=Japanese}}

Also in 2010, director Banmei Takahashi released {{Nihongo|BOX: The Hakamata Case|BOX　袴田事件　命とは}}. The documentary film contrasts the lives of Hakamata and Kumamoto, focusing on Hakamata's interrogation and trial. The film concludes that Kumamoto was forced to "bury the truth" when it became obvious that the evidence was not sufficient to convict.{{cite news|title=REVIEW: Box: The Hakamata Case|work=J-Film Pow-Wow|author=Chris MaGee|date=12 February 2011|url=http://jfilmpowwow.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-box-Hakamata-case.html|accessdate=29 March 2014}} The movie was nominated for the Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montreal World Film Festival.{{cite web|title=Box: Hakamata jiken - inochi towa Awards|work=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1562275/awards|accessdate=29 March 2014}}

On 10 March 2011, Hakamata's 75th birthday, Guinness World Records certified him as the world's longest-held death row inmate.{{Cite news| last = Hofilena| first = John| title = Japanese man is Guinness record holder for longest time on death row| work = Japan Daily Press| accessdate = 24 May 2013| url = http://japandailypress.com/japanese-man-is-guinness-record-holder-for-longest-time-on-death-row-0926673| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140404042408/http://japandailypress.com/japanese-man-is-guinness-record-holder-for-longest-time-on-death-row-0926673/| archive-date = 4 April 2014| url-status = usurped}}

A 2008 DNA test suggested the blood on the clothing used as evidence did not match Hakamata's, prompting a second retrial request from his lawyers. Further tests in 2011 supported the conclusion.{{cite web|title=The Hakamata Case / Another Rubin "HURRICANE" Carter Case|url=http://jpbox.jp/Hakamata/sorce.html|publisher=Japan Pro-Boxing Association|date=November 2013|accessdate=29 March 2014}} On 14 March 2012, a blood sample was taken from Hakamata for a more accurate DNA test to compare with the blood sample on the shoulder of the T-shirt found among the murderer's clothes.{{cite web|url=http://mainichi.jp/area/shizuoka/news/20120315ddlk22040250000c.html|script-title=ja:袴田事件：袴田死刑囚再審請求 ＤＮＡ検体採血で姉・秀子さん「ホッとした」|language=Japanese|publisher=Mainich|date=15 March 2012|accessdate=30 March 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120710040155/http://mainichi.jp/area/shizuoka/news/20120315ddlk22040250000c.html|archivedate=10 July 2012}} The blood was thought to be that of the attacker, and had been previously determined unlikely to be from any of the victims.{{cite web|url=http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news/120118/szk12011802040001-n1.htm |script-title=ja:「袴田死刑囚のＤＮＡ型鑑定を」 支援者ら申し入れ 静岡 |publisher=The Sankei Shimbun & Sankei Digital |language=Japanese |date=18 January 2012 |accessdate=30 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118224411/http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news/120118/szk12011802040001-n1.htm |archivedate=18 January 2012 }} The testing revealed that the blood did not match Hakamata's DNA. The prosecution disputed the validity of the DNA tests.

In March 2014, Hakamata was released from prison and granted a retrial by the Shizuoka District Court.{{Cite web |date=14 April 2014 |title=The Consequences of Wrongfully Convicting the Longest Serving Death Row Inmate — Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide |url=https://deathpenaltyworldwide.org/the-consequences-of-wrongfully-convicting-the-worlds-longest-serving-death-row-inmate/ |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=en-US}} A statement from the court said there was reason to believe evidence had been fabricated in the original trial and that keeping the 78-year-old jailed while waiting on the retrial would have been "unbearably unjust". Amnesty International remarked, "Time is running out for Hakamata to receive the fair trial he was denied more than four decades ago. If ever there was a case that merits a retrial, this is it."{{Cite news| last = McLaughlin| first = Eliott C.| title = In Japan, world's longest-serving death row inmate to get retrial| publisher = CNN| date= 27 March 2014| accessdate = 27 March 2014| url = http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/asia/japan-death-row-inmate-freed/index.html}} A prosecution appeal of the decision to release Hakamata was denied.{{cite news|title=Hakamata fends off prosecutors|date=28 March 2014|work=The Japan Times|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/28/national/Hakamata-fends-off-prosecutors/|accessdate=29 March 2014}} Hakamata was the sixth Japanese death row inmate to be granted a retrial. Four of the previous five were eventually acquitted.

According to a family member, Hakamata's mental health had badly deteriorated due to years in solitary confinement. According to an anti-death penalty activist that visited him in 2003, Hakamata was then claiming he had become "the omnipotent God" who had "absorbed" Iwao Hakamata, taken over the prison, and abolished the death penalty in Japan. A 2009 report on the death penalty in Japan by Amnesty International said a psychiatrist had diagnosed Hakamata with "institutional psychosis".{{cite news|title=Prisoners driven insane on Japan's death row, says Amnesty|work=The Guardian|date=10 September 2009|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/10/japan-death-row-insane-amnesty|accessdate=27 March 2014 |first= Justin | last = McCurry}} For years before release, he had denied most visitation requests, including from family. Hakamata was admitted to a Tokyo hospital the day after his release, to be treated for possible diabetes.

In June 2018, the Tokyo High Court overturned the ruling that had Hakamata released. He was allowed to retain his freedom due to his age until the case returns to the Supreme Court. That August, prosecutors urged the Supreme Court to reject Hakamata's appeal to "stop the situation in which the sentence is suspended unnecessarily".{{cite web|agency= AFP|date = 7 September 2018|title = Japanese boxer on death row keeps up the good fight|work = New Straits Times | url = https://www.nst.com.my/world/2018/09/409204/japanese-boxer-death-row-keeps-good-fight|access-date = 9 September 2018}}

In March 2023 the Tokyo High Court ordered a retrial for Hakamata.{{cite web|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-court-orders-retrial-for-decades-long-death-row-inmate|title=Japan court orders retrial for decades-long death row inmate|website=The Straits Times|date=13 March 2023|access-date=13 March 2023}} On 26 September 2024 he was acquitted by the {{ill|Shizuoka District Court|ja|静岡地方裁判所}}, 56 years after his arrest.{{Cite web |title=Iwao Hakamata: World's longest-serving death row inmate acquitted in Japan |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y9x6zrkrro |access-date=26 September 2024 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}} On 8 October the prosecution confirmed they would not appeal against the verdict,{{Cite news |date=8 October 2024 |title=Japan prosecutors won't appeal Hakamata death row acquittal: Media|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/japan-prosecutor-wont-appeak-Hakamata-death-row-acquittal-media-4665411 |work=CNA}} which was finalized the next day.{{Cite news |date=9 October 2024 |title=Japanese man's acquittal of 1966 quadruple murders finalized |url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/10/d8e75da1b27c-japanese-mans-acquittal-of-1966-quadruple-murders-finalized.html |work=Kyodo News}} In 2025 a court awarded him 12,500 yen (US$83) for each day of imprisonment, 217,362,500 yen.{{cite news|agency=Agence France-Presse | title=Exonerated prisoner awarded $1.4m after 46 years spent on death row in Japan |newspaper=The Guardian | date=25 March 2025 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/25/iwao-hakamada-worlds-longest-death-row-prisoner-japan-compensation-after-release}}

When Kumamoto came out in support of Hakamata in 2007, it shocked the Japanese public, casting light on the usually secretive justice system. Hakamata's case caused people to question the validity of the death penalty and brought attention to what critics describe as "inhumane" elements of the Japanese justice system. In Japan, the police may interrogate a suspect for up to 23 days, and the suspect is not permitted to have a lawyer present during interrogation.

Because a false confession could be obtained easily under such harsh conditions, and because it was legal before WWII for police to torture suspects to obtain a confession, Japanese criminal courts will admit a confession as evidence only when it reveals something known only by the perpetrator of the crime. The Japanese legal system does not provide for a plea of guilty, and so, even if the accused declares guilt, the courts may find the defendant innocent if the confession of guilt is determined to be inadequate.

In capital punishment cases, to rule out the possibility that police may have forced a confession, the secret must be something that the police investigation had not known at the time of the confession. Supervision by the prosecutor, to maintain the record of investigation, is considered the cornerstone of validity of confession as evidence. Due to its reliance on confession as evidence and proof of guilt, Japanese police put enormous pressure on the suspect to confess hitherto unknown details, as this kind of confession is regarded to be as strong as forensic evidence.

The vast majority of miscarriage of justice cases in Japanese capital punishment cases involve police faking the investigative record to make it appear as if the suspect had confessed certain guilty secrets which only the perpetrator of the crime could have known, but it had later become apparent that the suspect had been forced to sign a blank sheet which the investigative police filled in with a "confession" as they wished.

Amnesty International has featured Hakamata prominently in their campaign against the death penalty in Japan. Using his case and others, they argued that "Japan's death row system is driving prisoners into the depths of mental illness".{{Cite web |date=13 March 2023 |title=Japan court orders retrial for Iwao Hakamata, 87-year-old ex-boxer who is world's longest-serving death row inmate - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iwao-Hakamata-retrial-1966-murders-worlds-longest-serving-death-row-inmate-japan/ |access-date=22 February 2024 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}} The JFBA said the case was an example of "a nest of unlawful interrogations" and called for reform, including video taping of all interrogations.

During Pope Francis's pastoral visit to Japan, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan invited Hakamata and his sister to the papal Mass at Tokyo Dome. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, the Archbishop of Tokyo, was unable to arrange a meeting between Hakamata and the Pope. However, upon returning to Rome from the pastoral visit, Francis reiterated his rejection of the death penalty.{{cite web |title=Francis' rosary to Hakamada, innocent for many years on death row |url=https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Francis'-rosary-to-Hakamada,-innocent-for-many-years-on-death-row-62553.html |website=PIME Asia News |publisher=Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions |access-date=25 February 2025 |language=en}}

On October 21, 2024, Police Chief Takayoshi Tsuda apologized to Iwao Hakamata on behalf of the Shizuoka Prefectural Police.{{cite web|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/10/e36c64661b00-japan-local-police-chief-apologizes-to-man-acquitted-in-1966-murders.html |title=Japan local police chief apologizes to man acquitted in 1966 murders|publisher=Kyodo News}} A year later, on January 29, 2025, after Hakamata was finally declared innocent in 2024 after a retrial, has filed a compensation claim of ¥217 million (approximately US$1.4 million) against the Japanese government. His legal team submitted the claim to the Shizuoka District Court, seeking financial redress for what remains the longest-known wrongful imprisonment in Japan’s history.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-29 |title=袴田巖さん拘束された47年7カ月 刑事補償として2億1700万円あまり請求 認められれば過去最高額に｜FNNプライムオンライン |trans-title=Iwao Hakamata who was detained for 47 years and seven months. If approved, it will be the largest amount ever. |url=https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/821524 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130044817/https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/821524 |archive-date=2025-01-30 |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=FNNプライムオンライン}} The claim was approved on March 25, 2025.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-25 |title='Record' payout for world's longest-serving death row inmate |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2gwelynkyo |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=BBC}}

{{Portal|Japan}}

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• Capital punishment in Japan
• Matsuo Fujimoto
• Sadamichi Hirasawa
• Sakae Menda
• Rubin Carter
• Sayama Incident

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{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{in lang|ja}} [http://www.Hakamata.net/ Hakamata.net]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080313084108/http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40010 Death Penalty – Japan: Dissenting Judge Breaks 40-Year Silence] Inter Press Service
• [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/03/28/editorials/epic-miscarriage-of-justice/ An Epic Miscarriage of Justice] Japan Times opinion piece.
• [http://www.jiadep.org/resources/Chart-Enzai.html Data Base of Wrongful Convictions in Japan]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hakamata, Iwao}}

Category:1936 births

Category:Japanese people convicted of murder

Category:Japanese prisoners sentenced to death

Category:Living people

Category:People acquitted of murder

Category:People convicted of murder by Japan

Category:Prisoners sentenced to death by Japan

Category:Japanese male boxers

Category:Sportspeople from Hamamatsu

Category:Martial artists from Shizuoka Prefecture

Category:Sportspeople convicted of crimes

Category:Featherweight boxers

Category:20th-century Japanese sportsmen

Category:Japanese Roman Catholics

Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism