High court rejects reopening 1966 Hakamada quadruple murder case

Wow, is this Japan’s version of Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter?

It sure seems possible that the court could have requested new DNA evidence if it thought the 2012 DNA tests were lacking.  What a waste of a court system.

This case is a prime example of the reason I'm against the death penalty. I don't actually have a moral problem with the death penalty in and of itself, but the permanence means no fixing mistakes like this.

Being very far from an expert on the Japanese legal system, thisisan honest question not a sarcastic comment, doesn’t it require proof beyond reasonable doubt? There is Oe surely doubt as to the validity of the original finding?

He would have been hanged a long time ago, weren’t it for the judiciary’s own lingering doubt about this man’s guilt. Every justice minister that came and went over the years was uneasy about this case and didn’t have the guts to hang him or do something about it, so they just handed the problem over to the next justice minister and so on. I guess they were well aware how it works here, with the long history of forced confessions . It makes one wonder if there are other, less fortunate folks languishing in prison for something they had no part in.

I believe the term is Medieval. 99% conviction rate. Justice is a misnomer in Japan. Take 10 yen from a pond your in jail. Sell land at a discount prosecutors not interested. Once you are in jail that's it, they will never admit they were wrong. It's no wonder the UN burst into laughter when the Japanese minister of justice made a speech.

The insecurities of those in authority and their unbearable fear of losing face can explain many of the weird ways and strange shenanigans encountered in the topsy-turvy Land of Wa.

Prosecutors appealed against the decision to the Tokyo High Court, casting doubt on the reliability of the DNA tests.

For a country that likes to pride itself on developing, using, and understanding cutting edge technology it sure seems to me that the police and public prosecutors have a lot to learn to catch up with the rest of the country.

The prosecutors will "cast doubt" when it serves their purpose, but claim 100% accuracy when they are the one's presenting the evidence in a case and it's sad that the judges dont see through their BS.

reading stories like this completely destroys my faith in the Japanese Justice system.