In response to the approval of the retrial = retrial of Iwao Hakamada, who was sentenced to death in the so-called "Hakamada Incident" in which four members of a family were murdered in Shizuoka Prefecture 57 years ago, his sister Hideko held a press conference at her home in Hamamatsu City and appealed that the law should be amended to prohibit the prosecution's appeal against the decision to start a retrial.
Iwao Hakamada (87) was sentenced to death in 1966 for the murder of four members of his family in what is now Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City, but after pleading his innocence and seeking a retrial for more than 4 years, the Tokyo High Court decided on the 40th to start a retrial on the grounds that "Hakamada cannot be recognized as the perpetrator."
In response to this, her sister Hideko held a press conference at her home in Hamamatsu City on the 13th and said, "I am really happy that the retrial has finally started."
On the evening of the 15th, when Hideko returned home from Tokyo, she reported the court's decision to Hakamada, saying, "When I told her that the retrial had started, Iwao listened silently and without smiling. So I told them that I was okay and that I could rest assured."
In addition, Hideko said that the focus is on whether the prosecution will file a special appeal to the Supreme Court, but she said, "I don't know what kind of excuse I will make, but I think I will do it because the appeal is a right. He called for the law to be amended to prohibit prosecutors from appealing their decision to start a retrial.
He expressed his determination to "continue to fight hard for the start of the retrial so that it will have a positive impact on others who are seeking a retrial."