Shoji Maekawa Acquitted in Retrial After Inconsistent Witness Testimonies

On July 18, Shoji Maekawa, a man wrongfully imprisoned for the stabbing of a teenage girl, was declared not guilty in a retrial that questioned the reliability of witness testimonies. The Kanazawa Branch of the Nagoya High Court ruled in favor of Maekawa, who had previously spent seven years behind bars after being convicted of the murder in Fukui in 1986, despite the lack of physical evidence against him.

Initially, the case relied on conflicting accounts from six witnesses. For the retrial, the court prompted the presentation of 287 new pieces of evidence, revealing significant inconsistencies in the testimonies provided during the original trial. The tragic incident occurred on the night of March 19, 1986, when a 15-year-old junior high school girl was fatally attacked in her home. Maekawa was implicated a year later based on a male acquaintance's claim that he saw Maekawa covered in blood at the time of the incident, a claim which Maekawa denied, stating he had no association with the victim.

Initially acquitted by the Fukui District Court in 1990 due to dubious witness credibility, Maekawa's case was appealed by prosecutors and ultimately reversed by a higher court in 1997. Even after the defense sought a retrial multiple times, it wasn’t until 2022 that further evidence was submitted, leading to significant discrepancies in the prosecution's narrative being highlighted. For instance, witnesses who claimed to have seen Maekawa in blood-stained clothing were found to have incorrectly stated the date of a television program they referenced, which aired a week later than they had claimed.

The Kanazawa Branch's decision to approve the retrial came with accusations that investigative authorities may have coerced witness testimonies. The court pointed out that prosecutors were aware of the discrepancies regarding the television broadcast date during the initial trial but persisted in advocating for the prosecution's case. The situation has sparked discussions about revising evidence disclosure practices within Japan's judicial system, with legal experts advocating for reforms to ensure fairness and accountability in future trials.