QUOTE OF THE DAY: "
"Sakahara's 65-year-old son, Koji, who took over the fight for a retrial after his father died 15 years ago, welcomed the development. "I am relieved. I hope we can receive an acquittal soon," he said at a press conference."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Due to prosecutors twice appealing the district court's approval, it took more than seven years for the retrial decision to be finalized by the Supreme Court in February this year. The retrial comes as Japan's parliament is expected to pass a bill during its current session that would, in principle, prohibit prosecutors from appealing court decisions granting retrials."
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STORY: " KYODO: Prosecutors to offer no evidence of guilt in 1984 murder retrial," published by The Mainichi, on June 19, 2026.
GIST: "Prosecutors said Friday they will offer no evidence of guilt in the posthumous retrial of a man convicted of robbing and murdering a woman in 1984, paving the way for his acquittal, in the first such retrial in postwar Japan involving a finalized death or life sentence.
The Otsu District Public Prosecutors Office disclosed its stance after the third meeting involving judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers to prepare for the retrial of Hiromu Sakahara at the Otsu District Court in Shiga Prefecture.
The office said in a statement after the meeting that it had decided neither to argue Sakahara was guilty nor present new evidence after closely reviewing the case records. It also said it wants the court to set a trial date promptly and make an appropriate judgment.
Sakahara's 65-year-old son, Koji, who took over the fight for a retrial after his father died 15 years ago, welcomed the development. "I am relieved. I hope we can receive an acquittal soon," he said at a press conference.
Sakahara died of illness aged 75 in 2011 while serving a life term for the alleged killing of 69-year-old liquor store manager Hatsu Ikemoto in Hino, a city in the same prefecture, and stealing her cash box.
A regular customer at the store, Sakahara was indicted after making a confession during voluntary questioning. He later maintained his innocence at trial, arguing that investigators had pressured him into confessing.
Sakahara's family and lawyers had been calling for the retrial to begin promptly. The district court approved reopening the trial in July 2018 after newly disclosed photo negatives showing him leading investigators to the site where the victim's body was found raised doubts about the reliability of his confession.
Due to prosecutors twice appealing the district court's approval, it took more than seven years for the retrial decision to be finalized by the Supreme Court in February this year.
The retrial comes as Japan's parliament is expected to pass a bill during its current session that would, in principle, prohibit prosecutors from appealing court decisions granting retrials.
GIST: "Prosecutors said Friday they will offer no evidence of guilt in the posthumous retrial of a man convicted of robbing and murdering a woman in 1984, paving the way for his acquittal, in the first such retrial in postwar Japan involving a finalized death or life sentence.
The Otsu District Public Prosecutors Office disclosed its stance after the third meeting involving judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers to prepare for the retrial of Hiromu Sakahara at the Otsu District Court in Shiga Prefecture.
The office said in a statement after the meeting that it had decided neither to argue Sakahara was guilty nor present new evidence after closely reviewing the case records. It also said it wants the court to set a trial date promptly and make an appropriate judgment.
Sakahara's 65-year-old son, Koji, who took over the fight for a retrial after his father died 15 years ago, welcomed the development. "I am relieved. I hope we can receive an acquittal soon," he said at a press conference.
Sakahara died of illness aged 75 in 2011 while serving a life term for the alleged killing of 69-year-old liquor store manager Hatsu Ikemoto in Hino, a city in the same prefecture, and stealing her cash box.
A regular customer at the store, Sakahara was indicted after making a confession during voluntary questioning. He later maintained his innocence at trial, arguing that investigators had pressured him into confessing.
Sakahara's family and lawyers had been calling for the retrial to begin promptly. The district court approved reopening the trial in July 2018 after newly disclosed photo negatives showing him leading investigators to the site where the victim's body was found raised doubts about the reliability of his confession.
Due to prosecutors twice appealing the district court's approval, it took more than seven years for the retrial decision to be finalized by the Supreme Court in February this year.
The retrial comes as Japan's parliament is expected to pass a bill during its current session that would, in principle, prohibit prosecutors from appealing court decisions granting retrials.
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog. FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project; FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true;
