On the 2nd, while the trial at the Tokyo High Court regarding the retrial of the so-called "Hakamada case" = redoing the trial, the defense submitted a final written opinion to the court.

He claims that ``the results of the experiments conducted by the prosecution have confirmed his innocence,'' and demands that a decision be made to start a retrial as soon as possible.

Iwao Hakamada, 86, was sentenced to death in 1966 for the murder of a family of four in what is now Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City, but he has appealed his innocence and is seeking a retrial.



In the retrial proceedings being held at the Tokyo High Court, the biggest point of contention is the change in color of the blood stains on the clothing believed to be the criminal's, which were found in a miso tank near the crime scene more than a year after the arrest. .



According to the defense team, both the defense and the prosecution submitted their final written opinions on the 2nd, and the defense observed an experiment that the prosecution had been doing since last year, soaking cloth with blood stains in miso. He claimed that he was able to confirm that the redness had disappeared, saying, "The prosecution's experiments also proved that the redness disappeared over time. It seems that the evidence was fabricated."



On the other hand, the prosecution has argued that "redness remained in some areas" about the results of the experiment.



Hakamada's older sister, Hideko, said at a press conference, "I've been fighting for 56 years. I want this to end."



All trials are scheduled to end at the tripartite consultation on the 5th of this month, and it is expected that the Tokyo High Court will make a decision within the year on whether to allow the trial to be redone.