Iwao Hakamada was sentenced to death for the murder of four members of his family in Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City 1966. Tokyo High Court issued a decision on March 87 to grant a retrial after referring to the suspicion of fabrication of evidence by investigative agencies.
The prosecution has indicated that it will have three months to make a policy decision on whether to prove the guilt claim. The defense team asked the court to exempt Mr. Hakamda from appearing in court in light of the fact that he was still unable to fully talk due to his prolonged detention.