'This is the beginning': 91-year-old sister of longest death row inmate sees hope in his acquittal

HAMAMATSU, Japan (AP) — Hideko Hakamada, 91, spent much of her life working to free her brother from nearly a half-century on death row. Now that he has been acquitted she feels that the siblings are beginning a new chapter of their lives.

She backed her brother, Iwao Hakamada, the world’s longest-serving death row inmate, through decades of frustrating, at times apparently hopeless, legal wrangling as his mental condition worsened.

“No matter what people said about me, I lived my own life and appreciated my freedom. I did not belittle myself as the sister of a death row inmate. I lived without shame,” she told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview at her home in the central Japanese city of Hamamatsu. “My little brother only happened to be a death row inmate.”

While working as an accountant to support herself, she helped cover her brother’s legal costs, made regular long trips to Tokyo to see him on death row and helped shape public opinion in his favor.

It wasn’t easy, and there were times she felt helpless.

“I was desperately working to win him a retrial, because that was the only way to save his life," she said. But sometimes she felt "at a loss and even unsure who I should be fighting against. … It was like I was fighting against an invisible power.”

To maintain a sense of herself, outside of her brother's legal fight, she invested her savings and took out loans to have a building constructed. She now rents out apartments in the building, where the siblings live.

Iwao Hakamada, a former boxer, was acquitted in September by the Shizuoka District Court, which said police and prosecutors had collaborated to fabricate and plant evidence against him, and forced him to confess with violent, hourslong, closed interrogations.

Earlier in the week, he received in the mail his voting ticket for Oct. 27 parliamentary elections, a verification his civil rights are being restored. Though he was freed from his solitary death row cell after a 2014 court order for a retrial, his conviction was not cleared and his rights were not fully restored until the recent decision.

Hideko Hakamada said she is “filled with happiness” over the acquittal, and that being able to vote "means he has finally been allowed back into society.”

“I will definitely go vote with him. It doesn’t matter which candidate" he votes for, she said. "To me what’s important is that he casts a vote.”

Her brother's long death row confinement took a toll on his mental health. He often drifts between reality and his imagination. He understands his acquittal but doesn’t seem to be fully convinced, she said.

Because of his difficulty carrying on a conversation and to avoid stress, Iwao Hakamada could not speak with the AP and left while his sister was interviewed. Volunteers took him on his daily ride and a brief walk. His supporters say he thinks he is going out “patrolling” as a guardian for the neighborhood.

He was convicted of murder in the 1966 killing of an executive at a miso bean paste company and three of his family members in Hamamatsu. He was sentenced to death in a 1968 district court ruling, but was not executed because of the lengthy appeal and retrial process in Japan’s labyrinth-like criminal justice system.

It took 27 years for the Supreme Court to deny his first appeal for a retrial. His second appeal for a retrial was filed in 2008 by his sister, and that request was granted in 2014.

Hideko Hakamada said her brother’s training as a professional boxer helped him survive. She maintained a rock-solid trust in her brother, who was the closest to her among their six siblings.

For his first few years in prison, her brother wrote to his mother every day, repeating that he was innocent, asking about his mother’s health and expressing optimism about his fate.

“I am innocent,” he wrote in a letter to his mother while on trial in 1967.

After the top court finalized his death penalty in 1980, Hideko Hakamada noticed changes in her brother.

He expressed fear and anger at being falsely accused. “When I go to sleep in a soundless solitary cell every night, I sometimes cannot help cursing God. I have not done anything wrong,” he wrote to his family. “What a cold-blooded act to inflict such cruelty on me.”

The only way for her to make sure he was alive was to go to visit him in person at the Tokyo Detention House. She could only see him for up to 30 minutes per visit. She also arranged care packages of fruit and sweets. There were times he refused to meet, presumably because of the deterioration of his mental health.

Executions are carried out in secrecy in Japan, and prisoners are not informed of their fate until the morning they are hanged. In 2007, Japan began disclosing the names of those executed and some details of their crimes, but disclosures are still limited. Japan and the United States are the only two countries in the Group of Seven advanced nations that have capital punishment.

Hakamada was the world’s longest-serving death row prisoner and only the fifth death row inmate to be acquitted in a retrial in postwar Japan, where prosecutors have near-perfect conviction rates and retrials are extremely rare.

Hideko Hakamada wants that changed, based on the lessons learned from her brother’s case, which has raised criticism about prosecutorial actions.

She rarely complained about her ordeal or the harsh public comments she faced or her fear that her brother would be executed despite her belief that he was wrongfully accused. She has been praised for her positive attitude and strength. But, she says, “It is Iwao who deserves praise for surviving, for walking out of confinement after more than 50 years.”

As her brother’s legal fight dragged on, she decided to build a home so she could feel a sense of achievement for herself.

“That became something to strive for,” she said.

To stay fit enough for her regular trips from Hamamatsu to Tokyo to visit her brother, she started exercising every morning, a mix of stretching and gymnastic exercises. She still keeps up with her morning routine.

“I’m 91, but age has nothing on me. People say ordinary 91-year-olds live more quietly, but that's not what I’m doing. I want to do everything I can while I’m still in good health,” she said.

“I’m not done yet," she said, with a laugh. "This is the beginning.”

This story corrects the year the top court finalized death penalty.

Former Japanese death-row inmate Iwao Hakamada, left, and his sister Hideko Hakamada attend a gathering of supporters in Shizuoka, central Japan on Oct. 14, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Former Japanese death-row inmate Iwao Hakamada, center, with his sister Hideko Hakamada, right, receive a bouquet of flowers during a gathering of supporters in Shizuoka, central Japan on Oct. 14, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Hideko Hakamada, sister of former boxer Iwao Hakamada who has been on death row for the 1966 murder case, rereads letters that her brother wrote from prison, in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, in May 2024. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. (Kyodo News via AP)

Iwao Hakamada, front left, who has been sentenced to death in a 1966 quadruple murder case, presents a stuffed toy bear to his sister Hideko Hakamada, right, on her 91st birthday in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, on Feb. 8, 2024. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. (Kyodo News via AP)

Hideko Hakamada, left, sister of former boxer Iwao Hakamada who has been on death row for a 1966 quadruple murder case, puts moisturizer on her brother's face after shaving, in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, on Aug. 20, 2021. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. (Kyodo News via AP)

Iwao Hakamada, center, who has been sentenced to death in a 1966 quadruple murder case, with his sister Hideko Hakamada, right, is welcomed by supporters on his arrival at Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, on May 27, 2014. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. The signs read "Welcome back, Iwao." (Kyodo News via AP)

Hideko Hakamada, center, sister of former boxer Iwao Hakamada who has been on death row for a 1966 quadruple murder case, visits Tokyo Detention Center in Tokyo after a court ordered a retrial for her brother, on March 27, 2014. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. (Kyodo News via AP)

Iwao Hakamada, left, who has been sentenced to death in a 1966 quadruple murder case, leaves a detention center in Tokyo with his sister Hideko Hakamada, on March 27, 2014 after the Shizuoka District Court ordered a retrial. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. (Kyodo News via AP)

Hideko Hakamada celebrates after the Shizuoka District Court found her brother Iwao Hakamada not guilty following a retrial for a 1966 quadruple murder, in Shizuoka, central Japan, on Sept. 26, 2024. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. (Kyodo News via AP)

Hideko Hakamada, left, sister of former boxer Iwao Hakamada who has been on death row for the 1966 murder case, reacts after the Shizuoka District Court found her brother not guilty following a retrial at the court in Shizuoka, central Japan, on Sept. 26, 2024. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. (Kyodo News via AP)

Hideko Hakamada, sister of former boxer Iwao Hakamada who has been on death row for the 1966 murder case, weeps after Tokyo High Court ordered a retrial for her brother, in front of the court in Tokyo, on March 13, 2023. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. (Kyodo News via AP)

Hideko Hakamada, center right, sister of former boxer Iwao Hakamada who has been on death row for a 1966 quadruple murder case, celebrates with a supporter after Tokyo High Court granted a retrial for her brother in front of the court in Tokyo, on March 13, 2023. Japanese prosecutors said on Oct. 8, 2024 they will not appeal the Sept. 26 ruling of the Shizuoka District Court that acquitted the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate in a retrial. (Kyodo News via AP)

Iwao Hakamada, who was on death row for nearly a half-century and was acquitted last month by the Shizuoka District Court, rides a car in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Iwao Hakamada, who was on death row for nearly a half-century and was acquitted last month by the Shizuoka District Court, prepares to go out for a walk in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hideko Hakamada, sister of Iwao Hakamada, shows a letter from her brother to his mother during an interview with The Associated Press in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hideko Hakamada, sister of Iwao Hakamada, is interviewed in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hideko Hakamada, sister of Iwao Hakamada, shows a family photo during an interview with The Associated Press in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hideko Hakamada, sister of Iwao Hakamada, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hideko Hakamada, sister of Iwao Hakamada, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hideko Hakamada, sister of Iwao Hakamada, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — Gunmen in two vehicles chased down the lawyer for Mozambique's leading opposition politician and a senior opposition official and fatally shot them in their SUV late at night on a main avenue in the capital, their party said Saturday, in a brutal burst of violence that rocked a country where tensions were already high amid a disputed election.

The killings came as the opposition party the two men were associated with prepared to challenge the results of this month's presidential election that drew more allegations of vote rigging and clamping down on dissent against the long-ruling governing party, which has been in power for nearly 50 years.

Elvino Dias, a lawyer and advisor to opposition presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane, was killed late Friday night by gunmen who riddled his car with bullets in the port capital of Maputo, the PODEMOS opposition party said.

Paulo Guambe, a senior member and the spokesperson for PODEMOS, was also in the car with Dias and died in the shooting, the party said in a statement.

The killings are “further clear evidence of the lack of justice that we are all subjected to,” PODEMOS said.

PODEMOS is a relatively new opposition party that challenged the 49-year rule of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, or Frelimo, party in the Oct. 9 election.

Although Mondlane ran for president as an independent, he was supported by PODEMOS. Mondlane, PODEMOS and other opposition parties have accused Frelimo of electoral fraud and rigging the election.

Frelimo candidate Daniel Chapo holds a clear lead in the presidential race, according to preliminary results. Mondlane was second behind Chapo in the count.

The final election results are due to be announced next week and Chapo is expected to be announced as the winner to succeed President Filipe Nyusi, who has served a maximum of two terms, taking the leftist Frelimo's grip on power past a half-century.

Dias was seen as a key figure in the legal preparations to challenge the results of the election in the Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s supreme electoral court. Mondlane and PODEMOS had also called for a nationwide strike and protests on Monday against the election results.

Adriano Nuvunga, the director of Mozambican human rights NGO, the Centre for Democracy and Development, wrote on social media that the killing of Dias was a “political assassination” amid rising tensions.

Authorities did not immediately comment on the killings, widely viewed in Mozambique as politically motivated.

Frelimo, which has been in power in the southern African country since independence from Portugal in 1975, has often been accused of rigging elections, which it has consistently denied.

Rights groups accused Mozambican authorities of clamping down on dissent in the run-up to the election and have also accused the security forces of using deadly force to break up peaceful protests. Police broke up a post-election march by Mondlane supporters in the central city of Nampula earlier this week. There has been a large police presence on the streets of Maputo for days.

While Frelimo has regularly faced accusations of manipulating elections, harassing the opposition and the arbitrary arrests of journalists, the assassination of high-profile political leaders would be new "and a major escalation of violence,” Marcelo Mosse, editor of the independent online newspaper Carta de Moçambique, wrote in a Saturday morning column.

The shooting happened just before midnight on Joaquim Chissano Avenue near the Russian Embassy, according to a local resident, who said he heard the gunshots. The resident, who asked not to be identified, said he was close enough to smell the gunpowder in the air after the shooting. He said he heard a steady sequence of around five shots followed a few seconds later by another round of five shots.

Videos published on social media — and shared widely in Mozambique — showed a dark gray BMW SUV in the middle of the road with numerous bullet holes in the bodywork. People were gathered around the car soon after the shooting, and some of the videos showed what appeared to be the bodies of two men, one with blood on his chest, in the front seats. The other body was slumped over.

The Mozambican Bar Association condemned the “barbaric murder” of Dias, who had been a member. The organization said the killing was “an attack on the legal profession, its independence, the rule of law and democracy,” and called for a protest march to be held in all provinces.

Frelimo established a one-party state following independence and then fought a bloody, 15-year civil war against the rebel group Renamo. They signed a peace deal in 1992 and Renamo became the main opposition party following the country’s first democratic elections in 1994, but the peace between them has been fragile.

Mondlane was previously a member of the Renamo party before leaving to run for president as an independent and becoming the leading opposition candidate.

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People queue to cast their votes during the general elections in Maputo, Mozambique, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Mangwiro)

Independent candidate Venancio Mondlane, right, casts his vote in general elections in Maputo, Mozambique, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Equeio)

Supporters take part in a ruling party rally to support presidential candidate Daniel Chapo ahead of elections, in Maputo, Mozambique, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Uqueio)

Daniel Chapo, right, presidential candidate for the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique party, holds up his finger after casting his vote in the general elections, in Inhambane, Mozambique, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo)

Independent candidate Venancio Mondlane holds up his finger after casting his vote in general elections in Maputo, Mozambique, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Equeio)