PRESS CONFERENCE
Miscarriage of Justice? The Case of Christopher Payne
Kiyomi Tsunogae, Member of the Defense Team
Kōta Handa, Chairman of Support Association
Ronda Terrill Payne, Mother of Christopher Payne
13:00-14:00 Friday, March 6, 2026
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in English.
In July 2024, Christopher Payne, a U.S. citizen living in Japan, was convicted of sexual assault and given eight years imprisonment with labor. While a higher court has overturned the guilty verdict, he remains behind bars while his case is retried.
His defense team, including lawyers from the Innocence Project Japan organization, which specializes in miscarriages of justice, has identified multiple problems with the original verdict. The biggest involve the DNA testing, which provided the core evidence against Payne. When Payne's lawyers obtained the raw data from the testing, a first in a Japanese criminal case, an independent forensic consultant discovered what appeared to be altered data and missing procedures. There were also questions about the testimony of the victim, who originally told investigators that her attacker was Japanese and a different height than Payne.
In December 2025, the Tokyo High Court sent the case back to district court for retrial, acknowledging that there were questions about the DNA evidence. But Payne remains in solitary confinement, where he has now been held for four years and three months. His lawyers have submitted multiple bail requests, including an emergency application after Payne's health deteriorated rapidly.
The case has disturbing parallels with the ordeal of Iwao Hakamada, who spent nearly 50 years on death row before acquittal. Please join us for an explanation from one of Payne's lawyers, who also worked on the Hakamada retrial; the father of Payne's girlfriend and one of his staunchest supporters; and Payne's mother.
How to attend:
Please register by emailing front@fccj.or.jp with your name and the name of your media outlet. FCCJ members should also include their membership number. Doors will open 15 minutes before the event.
How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live
How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/BdhwDcZkCjNZLVPH9
TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event. FCCJ will limit live-streaming of FCCJ-hosted press conferences to Club members only. Non-members will no longer be permitted to live-stream these events. However, non-members may still film for reporting purposes and use footage after the press conference.
Professional Activities Committee