A Japanese prisoner who spent nearly 40 years on death row for a crime he did not commit received a record compensation of more than $1.4 million (about 217 million yen), the largest of its kind in the country’s history. This amount works out to around $85 for each day.
Iwao Hakamada, 89, was convicted in 1968 of murdering his boss, the boss’s wife, and their two children in Shizuoka, central Japan. He was sentenced to death and spent 46 years in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, before new evidence prompted his release in 2014. A court later granted him a retrial in 2023, and he was officially found not guilty in 2024.
According to CNN, the Shizuoka District Court shared on Tuesday that Hakamata had been awarded $1.4 million. Hakamada’s lawyer, Hideyo Ogawa, described the amount as the highest ever awarded in a wrongful conviction case in Japan. However, he said it does not erase the suffering his client endured.
“I think the state (government) has made a mistake that cannot be atoned for with 200 million yen,” the lawyer said, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
Iwao Hakamada, an 89-year-old Japanese man who was the world’s longest-serving death row inmate, has been awarded $1.4 million in compensation after spending over four decades in detention for a 1966 quadruple murder he did not commit. He was exonerated in 2023 after a retrial… pic.twitter.com/qt0SU58wRo
— KUWAIT TIMES (@kuwaittimesnews) March 25, 2025
The case sparked national and international criticism of Japan’s justice system. Serious doubts emerged about the validity of Hakamada’s conviction in the subsequent years. His confession was reportedly obtained under pressure, and key pieces of evidence—including bloodstained clothing used to link him to the crime—were later found to have been planted, according to DNA tests.
Hakamada, a former professional boxer, retired from the sport in 1961 and took a job at a soybean processing factory. He was arrested five years later after the brutal killing of his employer and the employer’s family. He consistently maintained his innocence.
As his case dragged on, it drew growing public attention. Critics pointed to Japan’s legal system, which has been accused of relying heavily on confessions and offering limited protections for suspects during interrogation. Rights groups have referred to the process as a “hostage system” that pressures suspects into admitting guilt.
The announcement of his retrial drew large crowds to the Shizuoka District Court. On the day of the verdict in 2024, hundreds lined up to hear the ruling that cleared Hakamada of all charges.
Japan, including the United States, is one of the few developed countries that still practices capital punishment. The policy continues to receive strong support from the public.
Hakamada is now the fifth death row inmate in postwar Japan to receive a retrial. All five have been cleared, highlighting long-standing concerns about wrongful convictions in the country.
