Japan frees world's longest-held death row inmate

Iwao Hakamada is seen in this undated picture released by Kyodo March 27, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

The court's order for a retrial makes Hakamada only the sixth death row inmate to get a retrial in Japan's history of post-World War II criminal justice. Four were acquitted in their retrials, while the fifth inmate's case is still pending.

"We finally tore down the wall of retrial," said Katsuhiko Nishijima, head of the defense team. "We will challenge the court decisions, as well as police and prosecutors that have denied our appeals so many times."

Thursday's ruling underscores Japan's much-criticized closed interrogations without a lawyer, which rely heavily on self-confession. Hakamada had confessed in a closed interrogation that lasted 20 days.

Following criticism that Japan's lengthy court proceedings violate defendants' right to fair and speedy trial, the country has increased the number of judges to speed up the process while adding some transparency, including a jury system.

The United Nations' torture committee said in a 2013 report that Japan's routine interrogation of suspects in police custody, known as "substitute prison," often results in beating, intimidation and sleep deprivation. Justice authorities are discussing videotaping interrogations, but only partial recordings are being tested.

Japan is highly secretive about executions. Death row inmates are informed the morning they are hanged. Critics say executions without prior notice violate basic human rights and that secrecy and uncertainty cause unnecessary suffering for inmates. The Justice Ministry discloses only limited details afterward.

"It's totally unacceptable from a humane point of view," said Akira Kitani, a former judge, referring to Hakamada's long detention in fear. "We should take this opportunity to open a serious discussion about the death penalty."

More than 100 people are on death row in Japan, in solitary confinement, some of them for years.

"If ever there was a case that merits a retrial, this is it," Amnesty International said. It said questions about Hakamada's conviction based on a forced confession and the use of evidence must be answered. "The Japanese authorities should be ashamed of the barbaric treatment Hakamada has received," it said in a statement.

A Tokyo detention center official said Hakamada's mental and physical condition had declined in recent years, most likely due to prolonged detention. He said it was the first time a death row inmate has been released while his retrial is still pending.

Hakamada's sister, Hideko, 81, who devoted more than half of her life to the legal battle on her brother's behalf, said she was happy he is finally free.

"I just want to praise him for enduring all these years," she said, holding back tears and a smile at the same time. "Forty-seven years is an awfully long time."