Murder of 3rd-Year Junior High Student in Fukui: Prolonged Retrial Proceedings Hamper Redress for False Conviction

Editorial

16:46 JST, July 19, 2025

The former defendant, who was 21 years old at the time of his arrest, has already turned 60. Although he has been cleared of the false accusation against him, the lost years of his life can never be recovered. Reform of the excessively lengthy retrial system must be expedited.

In the retrial over the 1986 murder of a third-year junior high school girl in Fukui, the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court has acquitted Shoshi Maekawa, whose seven-year prison sentence for the murder had been finalized. After serving his sentence, Maekawa requested a retrial in 2004, claiming he was innocent.

From the outset in this case, there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. In the ruling that finalized his sentence, witness accounts such as “I saw Maekawa with bloodstains on his clothes” were a decisive factor for his conviction.

However, the ruling at the retrial pointed to suspicion that one of the witnesses gave false testimony and that other people concerned went along with police inducements for certain statements, among other circumstances. The ruling stated that these testimonies cannot serve as the basis for Maekawa’s conviction.

In the ruling, the prosecution was also criticized for having failed to disclose errors in the evidence during the trial, although they should not have been overlooked. The ruling stated that such an act constitutes a serious injustice and is totally unacceptable. Prosecutors are supposed to pursue the truth as representatives of the public interest, so their handling of the case violates their duty and is hard to believe.

Maekawa had been tormented by judicial decisions. The high court granted him a retrial in 2011, but later revoked the decision following an objection from the prosecution. His second request for a retrial was approved in 2024, and this led to his acquittal.

The prolonged proceedings are attributable to the current legal system, in which the disclosure of evidence is not legally required in a retrial. In this specific case, the prosecutors disclosed crucial evidence that indicated the witness accounts were contradictory when the second retrial was being requested.

In the case of Iwao Hakamata, whose death sentence had been finalized for the 1966 murder of family members in Shizuoka Prefecture, it took nearly 30 years from the first retrial plea until the prosecution disclosed evidence that led to his acquittal.

In both cases, if such exculpatory evidence had been disclosed promptly, the stigma placed on them surely would have been removed much sooner.

The Legislative Council, an advisory panel to the justice minister, has launched discussions on reforms of the retrial system. There are various issues to be discussed, and it will likely take time to compile opinions. Suprapartisan lawmakers also submitted a bill during the previous Diet session, calling for mandating the disclosure of evidence and other reform measures, but the bill will continue to be deliberated at the Diet.

False convictions not only violate the human rights of those wrongfully accused but also allow the real perpetrators to remain at large. It is essential to rectify the retrial system to enable swift proceedings.

Courts also bear a grave responsibility. Due to the lack of clear rules regarding how retrials are to proceed, some judges prioritize regular trials over retrials. Legal provisions to encourage judges to expedite proceedings also need to be considered.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 19, 2025)