PRESS CONFERENCE

Will the State Execute Iwao Hakamada?
Hideko Hakamada, Sister of Iwao Hakamada
Hideyo Ogawa, Attorney at law

14:00-15:00 Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation


Iwao Hakamada has been called "the world's longest-serving death row prisoner" and served decades in prison after being convicted of murdering a family of four in 1966, largely on the basis of a confession he insists was coerced. After his conviction was finalized in 1968, he lived in solitary confinement for much of the 45 years he spent awaiting execution. He has always maintained his innocence. In 2014, the Shizuoka District Court freed Hakamada, saying he should be retried because items of clothing and other evidence presented at his trial by the police "may have been fabricated." His lawyers say DNA tests on his bloodstained clothes prove the blood was not his.

Hakamada's legal team argues that he was framed by the police for a crime he did not commit. Yet, prosecutors are again seeking the death penalty in his retrial in Shizuoka, despite his advanced age (88) and his mental and physical frailty, which has rendered him unable to attend the trial in person. The odds may not be in the prosecutors' favor – in several previous retrials, the defendants were all found not guilty. But Hakamada's sister, who has fought for decades to clear her brother’s name, is not taking anything for granted. She will come to the FCCJ with Hakamada's lawyer, Hideyo Ogawa, to discuss the case, its legal implications and why prosecutors continue to insist that her brother is guilty.
 


How to attend: 
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited. Doors open 15 minutes before the event. Please sign in and giving your name and contact details at the reception. 

How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live 
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel. 

How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/PJ5KdPGu9FoQUSbD6
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form.

TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event. 

Professional Activities Committee