Ayobamiji Komolafe 
The world’s longest-serving death row inmate, Iwao Hakamada has been discharge and acquitted by the Shizuoka District Court in Japan on Thursday after 50 years of being convicted of a quadruple murder in 1968.
The 88-year-old man, who had spent 46 years on death row, was cleared of all charges in a retrial obtained by his defense team a decade ago.
In a case that has drawn international attention, Hakamada was convicted of murdering his boss, wife, and their two children in 1966.
However, concerns over coerced confessions and questionable evidence—particularly blood-stained clothing found in a miso tank—raised serious doubts about the fairness of his trial.
Judge Koshi Kunii delivered the ruling, stating, “The court finds the defendant innocent,” citing issues with the evidence used to convict Hakamada.
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Due to his fragile health, Hakamada was not present in court, but his sister Hideko, who has campaigned tirelessly for his release, represented him during the proceedings.
Hakamada’s retrial comes as a reminder of Japan’s controversial justice system, often criticized for its use of prolonged detentions and forced confessions.
His case has become a symbol of the push for reform, with human rights activists pointing to systemic failures within Japan’s judicial system.
Hakamada’s supporters gathered outside the court, carrying banners and flags, expressing both relief and frustration at how long justice had been delayed.
Despite the acquittal, the case remains a grim reflection of Japan’s capital punishment practices, which continue to face scrutiny from both domestic and international observers.
Hakamada was originally sentenced to death in 1980, but a retrial was granted in 2014 after new evidence suggested that prosecutors may have fabricated key elements of the case.
Though he was freed from prison pending the retrial, legal battles continued until his formal exoneration this week.
Japan remains one of the few developed nations, alongside the United States, that retains capital punishment, and it continues to execute prisoners by hanging, often with little advance notice.
