Issue:
August 2024
Hideko Hakamada has been a tireless campaigner for her brother, whose ordeal at the hands of Japan’s justice system could soon come to an end
She has fought for 58 years and shows no sign of letting up. Now 91, Hideko Hakamada has never wavered in her determination to secure justice for her younger brother, Iwao Hakamada, who was accused of murdering his former boss, his wife and their two children in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 1966. Iwao, 88, was sentenced to death in 1968, his punishment confirmed in 1980 by the Supreme court. After several requests, a retrial was granted in March 2023 and began in October that year. The hearings ended last May, and the court is expected to rule in September.
Hideko was present at every hearing at the Shizuoka District Court. Her brother was absent, his physical and mental health deemed too fragile for him to attend. More than 20 lawyers sat with Hideko, facing three judges and three prosecutors.
“I do not know exactly what they said, I did not listen to them much,” Hideko said at a press conference on July 3 at the FCCJ.
Hideko, accompanied by Iwao’s legal team, has been to the club several times over the past decade to explain the background to the case and encourage the international media to cover Iwao’s plight and battle for justice. That approach has paid off. Iwao’s case has received attention overseas, including his release from Tokyo detention center in March 2014.
The retrial, though, did not attract many foreign journalists. Hideyo Ogawa, who has reprsented Iwao and his sister for around 40 years, noted that prosecutors continued to claim Iwao was guilty, despite offering no new evidence. And they again demanded that he be hanged.
Ogawa said that was unacceptable. Hideko, on the other hand, said she had never expected the prosecutors to suddenly see sense. The ruling will be announced on September 26.
“It is certain that Iwao will be declared innocent,” Ogawa said, but added it would not bring the saga to an end, since prosecutors will still have the option of appealing again. That is a nightmare scenario for Hideko as it would prolong the case by another two years. “Iwao is 88 years old, I am 91, we do not have a lot of time left. Let him live it like a human being," she told the judge at the end of the final hearing in the retrial.
Even if Iwao is cleared and the prosecutors decide not to appeal, Ogawa will continue to pressure authorities into conceding that the investigation into the murder-arson, and the way in which Iwao has been treated over the past 58 years, were illegal and clear violations of his human rights.
Hideko stressed that she was not only fighting for her brother, but for all people who have been falsely accused under the Japanese justice system. She has pointed to the Japanese media’s over-reliance on information leaked by prosecutors. It is worth noting that four people originally sentenced to death in Japan were cleared after spending decades on death row. But these and other miscarriages of justice rarely receive the attention they deserve in the domestic media or from politicians.
Hideko said she was now a strong opponent of capital punishment. “For me, before, it was quite logical that the death sentence was appropriate in some cases of multiple murders, but Iwao’s case helped me realize how cruel and hard it is for the defendant and his family. I am now against the death penalty.”
Allow me to end this article on a more personal note. I have made several trips to Hamamatsu to meet Hideko and Iwao, and I am always struck by her strength and dignity, despite being shunned by friends and criticized in some sections of the media. Journalists must remain objective, of course, but there are times when neutrality is unacceptable, including those in which there have been clear violations of someone’s human rights. That is why I believe that journalists should condemn Iwao’s treatment as intolerable.
Karyn Nishimura is a correspondent for the French daily newspaper Libération and Radio France.
