Iwao Hakamada, on Death Row in Japan for Nearly Half a Century, Could Gain Freedom
Justin McCurry from The Guardian:
The former professional boxer, now aged 88 and battling physical and mental illness, will learn his fate in late September when the Shizuoka district court rules in his retrial, which started in March 2023. He has not appeared in court, having been declared mentally unfit to give credible evidence. His long incarceration has exposed what campaigners call inhumane treatment of death row inmates in Japan.
Regardless of his guilt or not, the death penalty is an echo of an uncivilized past and Japan could easily gain a few rungs on the human rights ladder by abolishing it.