Photo/Illutration Hideo Yamada, chief public prosecutor at the Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office, apologizes on Nov. 27 to Iwao Hakamada, second from right, at his home in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. (Pool)

The Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office finally apologized to Iwao Hakamada, a former boxer who spent decades on death row before a retrial court found him not guilty in September.

But some prosecutors are unwilling to put this case in the past.

The criminal procedures concerning Hakamada, 88, concluded with his acquittal in the multiple murder case that led to his incarceration starting in the 1960s.

Shizuoka prosecutors have decided not to appeal the verdict, and they formally apologized to him on Nov. 27.

But in a rare move, Prosecutor General Naomi Unemoto released a statement in October, expressing “strong dissatisfaction” with the court’s ruling in the retrial.

She specifically challenged the court’s conclusion that investigators had fabricated evidence against Hakamada.

Prosecutors have highlighted several key points to support their claim about five pieces of clothing allegedly worn by the suspect during the murder of four family members in 1966.

They argue that the court’s assertion that investigators tried to tamper with the clothing shortly after Hakamada’s arrest contradicts the fact that police initially identified other pieces of clothing as relevant to the case.

They also believe the court’s timeline of events is flawed, suggesting the timing of the prosecutors’ submission of evidence was entirely reasonable given the court’s schedule at the time.

These arguments have sparked a heated debate even within the prosecution.

Some prosecutors believe the court made a fundamental error in its judgment, and that the prosecutor general’s statement was justified. They say they are prepared to risk being criticized for the statement.

However, others argue that publicly expressing dissatisfaction with a final verdict is inappropriate and could undermine public trust in the justice system.

Hakamada’s defense team has denounced the prosecutors’ claims, demanding that the prosecutor general retract her statement.

“The statement implies that Hakamada is guilty. It’s appalling,” said Hideyo Ogawa, Hakamada’s chief attorney.

Legal experts have also criticized prosecutors for continuing to challenge the verdict after the case has been closed.

“If they have something to say, they should say it in court, not outside of it,” said Hiroyuki Kuzuno, a professor of criminal law at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. “It is unacceptable for the prosecution to suggest that a defendant is guilty after being acquitted.”

Hakamada's defense team is considering filing a lawsuit against the state for damages, and the issue of evidence fabrication is likely to be a central point of dispute in such a case.

“Although an acquittal was granted in the criminal court, we will have to contest it in the civil court,” said a senior prosecutor. “This issue is far from over.”

(This article was written by Takashi Uematsu, Kazufumi Kaneko and Hikaru Yokoyama.)

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