Japanese Prosecutor Apologizes to Hakamata after Acquittal

Jiji Press

16:22 JST, November 27, 2024

HAMAMATSU (Jiji Press) — The head of a public prosecutors’ office in Shizuoka Prefecture on Wednesday apologized directly to Iwao Hakamata, who was recently acquitted in a retrial decades after he was convicted over the 1966 murder of four people.

“We are very sorry that your legal status had been unstable for a considerable period of time and you had spent your days in an unspeakable distress,” Hideo Yamada, head of the Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office, told the 88-year-old former death-row inmate at his home in the city of Hamamatsu.

“As long as we have accepted the acquittal and decided not to appeal, we will not say that the criminal is Mr. Hakamata and we will not regard you as a criminal,” Yamada said.

In response, Hakamata’s 91-year-old sister, Hideko, said: “We have no intention of saying anything to the prosecution now. Now we are very happy that his innocence has been confirmed.”

Shizuoka District Court last September acquitted Hakamata, ruling that evidence was fabricated by investigation authorities.

In response, Prosecutor General Naomi Unemoto said that while the prosecution had no plans to appeal the ruling, it was unacceptable.

Lawyers for Hakamata criticized Unemoto, saying the remarks regard him as a criminal and could be accused of defamation.

Takayoshi Tsuda, chief of Shizuoka prefectural police, made an apology to Hakamata during a meeting last month.