Japanese man released after 46 years

Hakamada Iwao released after serving 46 years on death row

March 2025

Hakamada Iwao has been released after spending a record 46 years on death row which is believed to be the longest such case in the world. He has been given $1.4m in compensation which hardly compensates for a lifetime of privation. He is now 89.

It has to be remembered that the Japanese system is particularly barbaric since there is no warning when the execution will actually take place. It means he has spent those years in prison awaiting an execution which could have happened at any moment.

Another factor is that he was never guilty. It is yet another example of police interrogation methods at the time. He was intensively interrogated and abused over a period of 20 days with no lawyer present. He was coerced into signing a confession – later withdrawn – and other documents were forged by the police. It is also probable that bloodstained clothing was tampered with by them as well.

People who argue for the death penalty have to face the fact of mistakes which cannot be rectified. People sometimes argue that why would someone sign a confession if they weren’t guilty? They forget that isolation, bad treatment, psychological pressure and constant interrogation can break most people.

It is disappointing to note that 83% of Japanese still support the penalty and increase of 2.3 percentage points from the last survey according to an article in the Asahi Shimbun. It does point out however that many people are unaware of the facts surrounding the penalty.

Amnesty opposes the death penalty in all circumstances.

Sources: Asahi Shimbun, Guardian, Amnesty International

[Some spellings are Hakamata]