Police Apologize to Hakamata After His Acquittal for 1966 Quadruple Murder; Shizuoka Authorities Also Express Contrition to Grandson of Victims

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:04 JST, October 21, 2024

Following the acquittal on retrial of Iwao Hakamata, 88, for the 1966 quadruple murder of a family in Shizuoka Prefecture, Takayoshi Tsuda, chief of the prefectural police, apologized to Hakamata in a meeting with him in Hamamatsu on Monday.

“I am sorry for the unspeakable burden and trouble we have caused you over the past 58 years, from your arrest to your acquittal,” Tsuda said in front of Hakamata and his family, including his 91-year-old sister Hideko, at Hakamata’s home in Hamamatsu.

In response, Hideko said, “Iwao and I both believe that it was our fate, and I have no intention of complaining to the police now.”

The Shizuoka District Court ruling that acquitted Hakamata on Sept. 26 concluded that the evidence used as the basis for his conviction, including a bloodstained shirt, was fabricated by the investigative authorities.

On Oct. 9, the prosecution waived its right to appeal the decision.

Tsuda also apologized to the grandson of two of the victims for the failure of the police to discover the truth of the case.

The incident occurred in June 1966 in the city of Shimizu, now Shimizu Ward of Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture. Hakamata, who was charged with murder-robbery and other crimes, pleaded not guilty at trial, but was sentenced to death in 1980. In March of last year, it was decided that the case would be retried, following Hakamata’s second retrial request in 2008.