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June 26, 2026
 

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FALSE CONVICTIONS

Koji Sakahara (center), the eldest son of Hiromu Sakahara, and others attend a news conference at the Shiga Prefectural Government building on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 19, 2026
Man given life sentence likely to be acquitted posthumously
Hiromu Sakahara was convicted of robbery-murder after a liquor shop owner was killed and her safe was stolen in the town of Hino, Shiga Prefecture. He died in 2011.
The Judicial Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives approves a bill to revise Japan's criminal retrial system on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 12, 2026
Lower House panel approves retrial system reform bill
The bill is expected to clear the Lower House on Tuesday and be enacted during the current Diet session ending in July.
Hideko Hakamata attends a parliamentary session on May 27 to observe deliberations on a Criminal Procedure Code revision bill.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 9, 2026
Sister of ex-death row inmate calls for full disclosure of evidence by prosecutors amid retrial system review
A bill under consideration would limit the scope of evidence disclosure and mandate that the defense not be provided with a list of evidence.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions about the criminal procedure law in parliament on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2026
Takaichi stresses ¡®great significance¡¯ of retrial system reform
The government bill prohibits in principle public prosecutors from filing appeals against court decisions to start retrials.
A Cabinet meeting on Friday that approved a revised bill on the retrial system
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2026
Cabinet approves revision of controversial retrial system
Critics of Japan¡¯s retrial system have said prosecutors¡¯ right to appeal is prolonging the court procedures needed for those seeking a retrial, with it sometimes taking decades.
Keisuke Suzuki, who heads a Liberal Democratic Party panel on the judicial system, speaks during a party meeting on retrial revisions on Wednesday at the party's headquarters in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
May 14, 2026
LDP approves government proposal to revise retrial system
The approval paves the way for the revision ¡ª a top priority for the government ¡ª to be submitted to the current parliamentary session.
Hideko Hakamata (right), the elder sister of Iwao Hakamata who was acquitted of a 1966 murder, attends a rally in Tokyo on April 18 to oppose the Justice Ministry's bill to revise the retrial system, which would continue to allow public prosecutors to appeal decisions to start a retrial.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 5, 2026
Growing number of critical views expressed online over proposed retrial reforms
Many social media users took interest in the topic after the draft bill to revise the code drew severe objections ¡ª even angry outbursts ¡ª from some lawmakers.
Shoshi Maekawa speaks to reporters Tuesday in the city of Fukui after filing a compensation claim at the Fukui District Court over the time he spent under detention following his conviction over a 1986 murder. He was acquitted in a retrial in August 2025.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 29, 2026
Man acquitted over 1986 murder seeks state compensation
Shoshi Maekawa, 60, was acquitted in a retrial in August 2025.
Hideko Hakamata, of former death-row inmate Iwao Hakamata, speaks during a gathering in Tokyo in June to call for a revision of Japan's retrial system.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 24, 2026
Former death-row inmate¡¯s sister further denounces Japan¡¯s review of retrial system
Hideko Hakamata says she opposes the draft government bill, which seeks to ban the use of evidence disclosed during court proceedings on retrial petitions for any other purpose.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Tomomi Inada (second from left) attends a party panel meeting on revising Japan's retrial system at the party's headquarters on April 15.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2026
LDP and Justice Ministry remain divided over how to revise retrial system
One key issue at the heart of the impasse in revising the retrial system has been whether to allow prosecutors to appeal a court decision to reopen a case.
Hideko Hakamata (front, second from left) and others participate in a protest against the proposed revision of Japan's retrial system, in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2026
Former death row inmate¡¯s sister slams Japan¡¯s retrial review plan
Iwao Hakamata¡¯s elder sister called for public prosecutors to be barred from appealing court decisions granting retrials.
Ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers have asked the Justice Ministry to amend a bill aimed at revising Japan¡¯s retrial system.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2026
LDP members demand rewrite of bill to revise retrial system
The bill proposes a one-year limit on court proceedings initiated by prosecutors¡¯ appeal against a retrial ruling, but party members want such appeals banned entirely.
The government is set to delay the submission to parliament of a bill aimed at amending the country's retrial system.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2026
Government to delay submission of retrial system reform bill
The move came as the government sees the need to take more time for coordination.
Hiroyuki Kuzuno, professor at Aoyama Gakuin University (left), and other legal experts on retrials hold a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2026
142 retrial experts blast Japanese government panel proposal
The Legislative Council proposal, which would maintain the right of the prosecution to appeal retrial orders, is saddled with ¡°serious problems,¡± the group said.
The National Diet building in Tokyo. Some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are opposed to a bill to reform the retrial system that the government is considering submitting.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 4, 2026
Many LDP members oppose retrial system reform bill
Many argued that retrial appeals by prosecutors should be banned, saying such appeals impede relief for wrongful convictions.
Ronda Payne (center), the mother of Christopher Payne, an American man convicted of sexual assault in Japan, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2026
American man found guilty of sexual assault fights ruling over DNA evidence
A Tokyo High Court ruling in December said his conviction was based on insufficient evidence and sent his case back to the district court.
Hirotsugu Sakahara (left), Hiromu Sakahara¡¯s eldest son, shakes hands with Hideko Hakamata, an older sister of a former defendant who received a not-guilty verdict in a retrial, after they learned that Sakahara¡¯s father case would be reopened, on Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 25, 2026
Top court grants retrial for deceased inmate over 1984 murder in Shiga
The decision makes it the first case in recent history in which a retrial was granted for a deceased inmate.
Co-representative Yasuyuki Tokuda (left) of the defense team speaks at a news conference in the city of Fukuoka on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 17, 2026
High court rejects retrial appeal over 1992 Fukuoka child murder
The defense plans to file a special appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision.
A former police employee in Saga Prefecture is suspected of not taking appropriate steps during investigations, such as neglecting to conduct tests to identify specific individuals despite human DNA having been detected.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 13, 2026
Improper DNA analyses may have affected Saga police probes in 19 cases
A total of 643 cases handled by a former employee from 2015 to 2024 are currently being investigated by the NPA.
A meeting of a criminal law subcommittee of the Legislative Council to discuss reforms to the retrial system, at the Justice Ministry on Monday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 3, 2026
Japan retrial system to retain appeals by prosecutors
The decision by the criminal law subcommittee of the Legislative Council is consistent with a Justice Ministry proposal.
Magnitude 7.2 quake hits northern Japan
A screenshot of the Japan Meteorological Agency website shows the seismic intensity of Thursday morning's earthquake.
Double barrage of storms to hit Japan this week
A map depicting the paths of Typhoon Mekkhala and Tropical Storm Higos
Two Japanese held in China for allegedly smuggling export-restricted goods
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara speaks during a news conference on Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Masayoshi Son dismisses Musk¡¯s idea for orbital data centers
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son dismissed the idea of space-based data centers, arguing that the AI race will be won by computing power on Earth.
Japanese companies get serious about workplace DEI
People working in human resources departments participate in a workshop in Tokyo in January. The participants played a card game in which they took on roles of people with various disabilities.
Remembering the wrestlers who rarely make the headlines
Tsurugisho throws salt at a one-day sumo event at the Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
China¡¯s mineral squeeze testing Japan¡¯s military buildup
Samples of rare earth luminescent materials displayed at an exhibition on China¡¯s manufacturing achievements at the National Museum in Beijing in March
Stepping up, not aside: Japan¡¯s retirement-age tour guides
Yoichi Miura (third from left) now divides his time between his import business and guiding international visitors across Japan.
Japan-South Korea detente persists ¡ª but breakthrough remains elusive
While Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have kept relations from sliding backward, experts say they have struggled to turn stability into concrete steps forward.
Japan¡¯s AI goldrush faces backlash as data centers sprout up in urban areas
Erin and Munekazu Tanikawa look out from their balcony at the construction site of a planned 52-meter-tall data center that would dominate their surroundings, in the city of Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, last month.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain.
The challenge of being neurodivergent in Japan¡¯s culture of conformity
By Tomoko Otake

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