Former Death Row Inmate Hakamata Files Damages Lawsuit Against Police, Presecutors, Courts

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:59 JST, October 10, 2025

SHIZUOKA — Iwao Hakamata, a former death row inmate who was later acquitted in a retrial, filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking damages from the central and prefectural governments.

Hakamata, 89, was sentenced to death for the 1966 murder of a family of four and was acquitted in a 2024 retrial. He is seeking ¥608 million in damages.

His defense team has said that they would pursue the illegality of the investigative authorities’ conduct. The behavior of the courts that issued the death sentence will also be pursued. Holding the judicially accountable is highly unusual.

According to the defense team, the claim is believed to be the largest ever filed in a state compensation lawsuit following a retrial that resulted in an acquittal.

Hakamata was arrested in 1966 by the Shizuoka prefectural police on suspicion of robbery and murder of four family members in the prefecture. His death sentence was finalized in 1980.

In retrial that took place in September 2024, the district court handed down a not guilty ruling, saying that three pieces of evidence, including five pieces of clothing that were said to have been worn at the time of the crime, “were fabricated by the investigative authorities.” The acquittal was finalized the month after on Oct. 9.

The complaint seeks to hold the police, prosecutors, and courts accountable for their illegal actions.

The defense team alleges that the police concealed facts linking the real culprit to the crime, deliberately neglected the investigation and fabricated evidence to frame Hakamata as the perpetrator. The police are also accused of attempting to coerce a confession by conducting daily interrogations lasting an average of 12 hours and by using intimidation through fear of continued detention if he denied the allegations.

Regarding the prosecutors, the complaint alleges collusion with the police to coerce Hakamata into making a false confession. Prosecutors are accused of indicting him despite recognizing, or being easily able to recognize the police’s fabrications.

The complaint also alleges that the Shizuoka District Court, which initially issued the death sentence, committed “gross negligence” by failing to thoroughly examine the pieces of clothing, despite the clear possibility they had been fabricated.

The complaint further concludes that both the Tokyo High Court and the Supreme Court also committed “gross negligence” by failing to correct the district court’s erroneous judgment.

“We will review the contents of the complaint and respond appropriately,” an official of the Shizuoka prefectural police said.

The Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office, the Shizuoka District Court, and the Supreme Court all said that they would refrain from comment.