Iwao Hakamata

is a Japanese former professional boxer who was sentenced to death on 11 September 1968 for a 1966 mass murder that became known as the Hakamata Incident. Hakamata's time on death row is the longest of any prisoner in the world.

In March 2014, he was granted a retrial and an immediate release when the Shizuoka District Court found there was reason to believe evidence against him had been falsified. Hakamata's innocence was confirmed in October 2024, when the prosecution waived its right to appeal. In 2025 a court awarded him 217,362,500 yen, 12,500 yen (US$83) for each day of imprisonment.

Early life and boxing career Hakamata was born on 10 March 1936 in the town of Yūtō (present-day Chūō-ku, Hamamatsu), Shizuoka Prefecture. From 1959 to 1961, Hakamata fought in 29 professional boxing matches.

He finished his career with a 16–11–2 record, including one win by TKO. All of his losses were on points. After his boxing career, he worked at a Shizuoka-based miso manufacturer.

Hakamata supporters said the case was full of holes, arguing that the alleged murder weapon – a fruit knife with a 12 cm blade – could not have withstood the forty stabbings of the victims without sustaining significant damage, and that the pajamas used to justify the arrest had disappeared and been replaced with the bloody clothing. The clothes were too small for Hakamata, but the prosecution argued that they had shrunk in the miso tank. The prosecution also claimed that the "B" label on the clothing indicated it was size medium and thus would have fit Hakamata. However, the "B" on the label indicated the colour black, not the size. The blood stains on the clothes were too dark and the colour of the clothes too light to have been lying in the miso tank. Although Hakamata remained on death row, he was not executed because the Minister of Justice refused to sign his death warrant, suspecting that the conviction was not certain. Like most death row inmates, Hakamata was placed in solitary confinement throughout his prison stay.

Campaign for a retrial After his appeal was denied in 1980, Hakamata obtained a new team of lawyers. In 1981, they filed a request for a retrial, asking for the physical evidence to be re-examined. In the investigation, it was determined the alleged murder weapon was the wrong size to produce the stab wounds, that a door supposedly used to enter the home was actually locked, and that the bloody pants were too small to have been worn by Hakamata. The Tokyo High Court upheld the retrial denial in August 2004. In March 2007, Norimichi Kumamoto, the head of the three judge panel who had originally convicted Hakamata, came out in support of Hakamata's innocence. He stated that he had doubted the authenticity of the confession and believed Hakamata to be innocent. He failed to persuade his two more senior colleagues, resulting in the split judgment for conviction. He eventually resigned his position out of guilt for the conviction.

The revelation came in spite of a strong tradition against publicly revealing discussions between judges, and it resulted in Kumamoto being highly criticized. "I'm glad I spoke up", he said. "I wish I had said it earlier, and maybe something might have changed."

In April 2010, 57 members of parliament formed the "Federation of Diet Members to Save the Condemned Iwao Hakamata". The group was chaired by Seishu Makino and included members of multiple political parties. They petitioned the Minister of Justice to introduce a moratorium on the execution of Hakamata.

Also in 2010, director Banmei Takahashi released . The documentary film contrasts the lives of Hakamata and Kumamoto, focusing on Hakamata's interrogation and trial. The film concludes that Kumamoto was forced to "bury the truth" when it became obvious that the evidence was not sufficient to convict. The movie was nominated for the Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montreal World Film Festival.

On 10 March 2011, Hakamata's 75th birthday, Guinness World Records certified him as the world's longest-held death row inmate.

DNA tests and release A 2008 DNA test suggested the blood on the clothing used as evidence did not match Hakamata's, prompting a second retrial request from his lawyers. On 14 March 2012, a blood sample was taken from Hakamata for a more accurate DNA test to compare with the blood sample on the shoulder of the T-shirt found among the murderer's clothes. The blood was thought to be that of the attacker, and had been previously determined unlikely to be from any of the victims. The testing revealed that the blood did not match Hakamata's DNA. A statement from the court said there was reason to believe evidence had been fabricated in the original trial and that keeping the 78-year-old jailed while waiting on the retrial would have been "unbearably unjust". Amnesty International remarked, "Time is running out for Hakamata to receive the fair trial he was denied more than four decades ago. If ever there was a case that merits a retrial, this is it." A prosecution appeal of the decision to release Hakamata was denied. Hakamata was the sixth Japanese death row inmate to be granted a retrial. Four of the previous five were eventually acquitted. For years before release, he had denied most visitation requests, including from family. Hakamata was admitted to a Tokyo hospital the day after his release, to be treated for possible diabetes.

In March 2023 the Tokyo High Court ordered a retrial for Hakamata. On 26 September 2024 he was acquitted by the , 56 years after his arrest. On 8 October the prosecution confirmed they would not appeal against the verdict, which was finalized the next day. In 2025 a court awarded him 12,500 yen (US$83) for each day of imprisonment, 217,362,500 yen.

On 11 September 2025, Hakamata filed a damages suit before the Shizuoka District Court against the Japanese state for defamation after the prosecutor general called his acquittal "unacceptable". He demanded 5.5 million yen ($37,000) in compensation and publication of an apology for one year on the website of the Public Prosecutors Office.

Impact When Kumamoto came out in support of Hakamata in 2007, it shocked the Japanese public, casting light on the usually secretive justice system. Hakamata's case caused people to question the validity of the death penalty and brought attention to what critics describe as "inhumane" elements of the Japanese justice system. The JFBA said the case was an example of "a nest of unlawful interrogations" and called for reform, including video taping of all interrogations. A year later, on January 29, 2025, after Hakamata was finally declared innocent in 2024 after a retrial, he filed a compensation claim of ¥217 million (approximately US$1.4 million) against the Japanese government. The claim was approved on March 25, 2025.