A police chief in Japan on Monday apologized to 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada – who was innocently convicted for nearly 50 years.
– We are terribly sorry, said the police chief and promised a “thorough and proper investigation”.
Bowing deeply before Hakamada at his home in Hamamatsu, central Japan, police chief Takayoshi Tsuda apologized for the “indescribable mental suffering” caused to Hakamada by the wrongful conviction.
Iwao Hakamada has difficulty expressing himself after the psychological injuries he suffered in prison, but his 91-year-old sister thanked the police chief for the visit.
– There is no point in complaining about him after all these years. He was not involved in the case and only came here because it was his duty. But I accept his visit because I want my brother to be able to break completely from his past.
Convicted of robbery murder
Hakamada was sentenced to death for robbing and murdering his own boss and his family in 1966, but was acquitted a month ago after a Japanese court re-examined the case – 58 years after he was first arrested. Hakamada had then been at large for ten years, after a court decided that the trial should be retrial, as new evidence came to light.
Over the years, the investigation and Japan’s legal system have been criticized for fabricating evidence, coercing confessions and holding suspects hostage.
Apart from the United States, Japan is the only major industrialized democracy that still maintains the death penalty as a legal sanction – a punishment with great public support. In the country, prisoners are notified of their execution with only a few hours’ notice.