Police, Prosecutors Recoil From Idea Of Faked Evidence; Officials ‘Cannot Accept’ New Ruling In Hakamata Case

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, September 27, 2024

The Shizuoka District Court’s acquittal ruling on Thursday for Iwao Hakamata has upset police and prosecutors, as their organizations were found to have “fabricated” evidence in the mass murder case.

The court ruled five articles of clothing discovered in a miso tank near the crime scene 14 months after the 1966 murders were “processed and hidden by the investigative authorities.”

In response to the evidence being deemed to have been “fabricated,” a senior Shizuoka prefectural police officer retorted, “That’s impossible.”

Another senior officer said: “How can they say that the investigation authorities fabricated the evidence?”

An 87-year-old former prefectural police officer said: “There were certainly mistakes in the initial investigation. But fabricating evidence to convict someone only does harm, no good. I am disappointed that court viewed the evidence as fabrication.”

The deputy chief prosecutor of the Shizuoka District Public Prosecutor’s Office told reporters that the office was aware of the defense’s request to abandon the appeal.

“We understand the content and objective [of the request], but what we ultimately decide is a different issue,” he said.