Overview

• Iwao Hakamada, Japan's longest-serving death row inmate, spent 45 years in solitary confinement before his release in 2014 and acquittal in 2024.
• A Japanese court awarded him $1.4 million in compensation, the highest ever for a wrongful conviction in the country.
• The Shizuoka Police Department and Prosecutor-General's Office issued formal apologies, acknowledging the miscarriage of justice and the mental toll on Hakamada.
• Critics highlight systemic issues in Japan's retrial process, which approves only 1% of applications, and the broader implications for the death penalty in the country.
• Hakamada's case underscores the human cost of prolonged incarceration and has intensified calls for legal reforms and a reevaluation of capital punishment in Japan.