A Japanese court decided Wednesday to order a retrial for a man who served a seven-year prison sentence over the 1986 murder of a junior high school girl in central Japan, questioning the credibility of the testimonies that led to his conviction.
In ordering a retrial for Shoshi Maekawa, 59, the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court cited the possibility that one of the statements was false and motivated by self-interest. Maekawa has maintained his innocence since he was arrested in 1987.
The Kanazawa court decided in 2011 to reopen the case, but the decision was overturned by the Nagoya High Court following an objection by prosecutors. His second request for a retrial was filed in 2022.
While there was no direct evidence, Maekawa was convicted based on the testimonies of his acquaintances. In the second request, the prosecution disclosed 287 new pieces of evidence, including police investigation reports.
The court said the man who first implicated Maekawa in the killing may have tried to use his testimony as a bargaining chip for a more lenient sentence or to secure bail in his own criminal case. The presiding judge said the man might have made a "false statement."
Criticizing the inappropriate offering of favorable treatment to the man, the judge said there were "strong grounds to suspect" that police forced others to give testimonies consistent with the first statement with the investigation stalling at the time.
Reacting to the ruling, Maekawa said he was "relieved" but cautious. "I can't get carried away just yet," he said, adding, "I'm aware that I'll face a long fight."
Satoru Yoshimura, who leads Maekawa's defense team, called the court decision "solid and justified," adding, "The large number of investigative reports disclosed by prosecutors was a decisive factor."
Reiko Fuchigami, president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, hailed the court's decision, saying she "reaffirmed the importance of evidence disclosure and active litigation proceedings." She urged prosecutors not to file an objection to the ruling.
Yoshihiko Hatanaka, the deputy prosecutor at the Nagoya High Public Prosecutors Office, said he will closely examine the details of the ruling and respond appropriately.
Maekawa was arrested on suspicion of murdering 15-year-old Tomoko Takahashi at her home in Fukui Prefecture. The Fukui District Court acquitted him in 1990, but he was convicted by the high court's Kanazawa branch, and the Supreme Court upheld the ruling.
The latest decision follows the recent acquittal in a retrial of an 88-year-old man who spent nearly half a century on death row over a quadruple murder in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1966.
© KYODO
17 Comments
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Moonraker
Again? Whether for the purpose of stitching up the suspect or the suspect himself, forcing confessions and statements is wrong.
nonu6976
Just another example that’s shows prosecutors here do not seek justice, they seek convictions. Once you are indicted you are guilty no matter what the evidence says, including the evidence prosecutors can just hide.
Abe234
I wonder how many called for him to be strung up!
Aly Rustom
THIS!
But I'm glad that there is a sense of a possibility of a miscarriage of Justice and that he will get another trial.
Some dude
Anyone get a sense that the recent high profile case (with the guy who spent 50-odd years on death row) might have opened the floodgates?
Prosecutors nationwide are going to be bricking it.
Fighto!
A SEVEN YEAR sentence after being convicted of murdering a girl?
Whether this man is guilty or innocent, the justice system has been shown to be farcical. If he is retried and found innocent I hope he is compensated, and the detectives and prosecuting lawyer on this case are ultimately tried and imprisoned.
Only one thing is certain - the parents of the poor girl will never see any justice.
Gene Hennigh
nonu6976
You just described the US system. The only difference between Japan and the US is . . . nothing. This fella, just like many in the US, is going to see his day in court again. What's wrong with that?
Alan Harrison
The prosecuters' office will probably appeal this. Prosecuters' in Japan see themselves as the guardians of Japanese society, and regard any threat to them (ie. no confession) as a threat to Japan. I other words they are a "Star Chamber". However it is good to see that this decision shows that either Judges in Japan are less of the imbecile rubber stampers that they have been for years, or defence lawyers are getting much better.
nonu6976
@Gene
You must be new to Japan.
finally rich
There is nothing to brag about a 99% conviction rate.
Yohan
I was also surprised to read that, it seems there is something totally wrong with this case from the very beginning on.
Moonraker
Surprisingly, already 5 people don't think it wrong. Unless they are police or prosecutors, it would be interesting to hear the moral reasoning behind that.
kwatt
again! It seems that police detectives interrogated the suspect illegally and paid money to the witness to make him guilty.
wanderlust
The infamous 99% conviction rate is only for cases that go to trial, and a guilty verdict is almost guaranteed. Around 60% of cases do not go to trial.
CSM May 10, 2023
Ricky Kaminski13
The guy was a well known scumbag in the Fukui community, one of the types that would sniff thinner bad, just asked the wife ( we live in Fukui ) about it and the general consensus is that he did it. Fairly gruesome stuff. Stabbed multiple times in the chest and apparently an eyeball removed or something macabre of that sort. A frenzy killing. As much as we would like a simple neat narrative about another victim of the Japanese judicial system, will take pause before I also jump on the wagon. The J cops may have stuffed the arrest, which is bad, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. The event shook this small city to its core. Books probably have been written for those that want to do a deeper dive.
wanderlust
Sorry - clicked too soon. From the CSM article:
Japan does not have a pretrial discovery process that allows defendants access to prosecutorial evidence.
However, prosecutors present only incriminating evidence to a court, while hiding other pieces of evidence that could point away from the accused.
リッチ
So this guy was convicted of murder without any physical evidence. Japan you can do better.