Japanese Exoneree Awarded $1.4 Million in Compensation After Spending 46 Years on Death Row | Death Penalty Information Center

Japanese Exoneree Awarded $1.4 Million in Compensation After Spending 46 Years on Death Row | Death Penalty Information Center

On March 24, 2025, Iwao Hakamada was award­ed just over $217 mil­lion yen ($1.4 mil­lion) in com­pen­sa­tion after spend­ing 46 years wrong­ful­ly incar­cer­at­ed on Japan’s death row. According to Mr. Hakamada’s legal rep­re­sen­ta­tive, Hideyo Ogawa, this award marks the ​“high­est” com­pen­sa­tion ever pro­vid­ed for a wrong­ful con­vic­tion. Mr. Hakamada, who was exon­er­at­ed last year, is only the fifth death-sen­tenced pris­on­er to recei…

Iwao Hakamada, a former Japanese professional boxer, was accused of quadrupling in 1966 and spent almost five decades on death row before he was finally acquitted in 2024. The Guinness Book of Records led today's 89-year-old as the longest person in the world on death row. His case highlights the Japanese justice and the application of the death penalty. The Hakamada case: A chronology of events On June 18, 1966, the managing director of a soy p…