Man Acquitted in Retrial over 1986 Murder in Central Japan
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., July 18 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese high court branch Friday acquitted a 60-year-old man in a high-profile retrial over the 1986 murder of a 15-year-old junior high school girl in the city of Fukui, the capital of the namesake prefecture in central Japan.
The acquittal of Shoshi Maekawa, who was previously found guilty and served a prison sentence, was handed down by Nagoya High Court's branch in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, a Fukui neighbor.
Presiding Judge Keisuke Masuda said that eyewitness testimonies from people including Maekawa's acquaintances, which served as the grounds for his guilty ruling, "cannot be trusted because there is a possibility of investigative authorities having unfairly led witnesses to testify."
Since the end of World War II, at least 21 individuals in 19 cases in Japan, including Maekawa, have been acquitted for murder in retrials.
Evidence newly disclosed by the prosecution played a decisive role in the latest acquittal ruling. This is likely to influence discussions on the retrial system, including setting rules for evidence disclosure.
Maekawa consistently denied the murder charges. His court battle centered on the credibility of testimonies from his six acquaintances, including a statement by one of them that the person saw Maekawa with blood on him, as there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime.
The presiding judge suggested that one of the eyewitnesses might have probably made a false statement that Maekawa was the culprit, in an attempt to obtain a lighter sentence in a trial on a stimulant case.
"Suspicions cannot be ruled out that testimonies by other witnesses were made along with false statements under unfair inductions by law-enforcement authorities whose investigations were stalemated," the judge also said.
The judge added that investigation documents disclosed in the retrial showed that a television program one witness claimed to have watched on the night of the murder was broadcast on a different day. He criticized public prosecutors for failing to correct the error before the guilty ruling was handed down despite having known about it, saying, "There is no choice but to assume that the prosecutors attempted to hide inconvenient facts, and they are insincere and sinful."
"There was a fair chance that Maekawa might have been found not guilty in his trial if the prosecution had disclosed the error, a development that would have made it unnecessary for him to make retrial pleas," the judge concluded.
"I take this case very seriously as one of the judges involved, since a very large part of your life was taken away in the form of imprisonment," Masuda told Maekawa. "I think again that we must handle retrial cases fairly and quickly."
Maekawa was arrested in 1987 and Fukui District Court found him not guilty. Nagoya High Court's Kanazawa branch overturned the ruling, however, and sentenced him to seven years in prison, which was finalized by the Supreme Court.
After serving his prison term, Maekawa sought a retrial. This was initially granted in 2011 but was revoked by Nagoya High Court, prompting him to file for a retrial again in 2022.
"We would like to consider our response after examining the acquittal ruling in detail and consulting upper offices," said Katsuhiko Hama, deputy chief of the Nagoya High Public Prosecutors Office.
Maekawa told reporters recently that an acquittal verdict "would not mean the end." The case "also has to be judged in a civil trial," he said, indicating plans to sue organizations such as the Japanese government for damages.
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