Iwao Hakamada, who was sentenced to death in the case of the murder of four members of a family in Shizuoka Prefecture 57 years ago, and who decided to retry = redo the trial in March this year, and the former judge who approved the start of the retrial and released Hakamada nine years ago met for the first time at the meeting.
Iwao Hakamada was sentenced to death in 1966 for the murder of four members of his family in what is now Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City, but he has consistently maintained his innocence and the trial was rescheduled in March.
In response to this, a rally of supporters and others was held in Tokyo on the 4th, and Mr. Hiroaki Murayama, the presiding judge of the Shizuoka District Court, which first issued the decision to allow Hakamada to retry and release nine years ago, and now a lawyer, gave a lecture.
Looking back on that time, Murayama revealed the evidence that led to his guilt, saying, "As a common sense theory, I thought that this was just a fabrication, and after listening to Mr. Hakamada in the detention center, I came to the conclusion that I had no choice but to release Mr. Hakamada no matter what kind of criticism was made later, because his mental health was reaching its limit."
Mr. Hakamada also participated in the meeting, and before it started, he met Mr. Murayama in a separate room with his sister Hideko.
It was the first time he had seen Mr. Hakamada face to face, and Mr. Murayama said, "I'm glad that I was able to see firsthand how he is doing, and I hope that Mr. Hakamada and Mr. Hideko will be acquitted while they are healthy."
On the other hand, Hideko said, "I wanted to say thank you for a word, and I told her that Murayama saved my life thanks to his release, so I was a lifesaver. He urged Iwao, 'Thank you for helping me,' and although he didn't understand the words, he seemed to be expressing his gratitude."
Commemorative photo for three people
Iwao Hakamada, his sister Hideko, and former judge Hiroaki Murayama met in a separate room for a few minutes and took commemorative photos before the rally began.
When Mr. Murayama was the presiding judge of the Shizuoka District Court, he went to the Tokyo Detention Center to see Mr. Hakamada, but he was refused a visit, so he could not see him, and on the 3th was his first face-to-face meeting.
Ms. Murayama, who met her face-to-face, said, "I will see you for the first time, how are you?" and according to the supporters, Hideko had tears in her eyes.