Double Jeopardy
逆転有罪 (Gyakuten Yūzai)
Innocence Overturned: Defendants who were found not guilty in district courts and later convicted by higher courts.
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges |
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Hirosaki University 1949/08/26 Aomori |
Nasu (Takashi?) |
Murder |
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Summary The defendant was charged with murdering the wife of a university professor. Court Chronology District Court 1951/01/12 Not Guilty High Court 1952/05/31 Guilty 15 years. Supreme Court 1953/02/19 Appeal is rejected ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1963 Paroled 1971 Real culprit comes forward. 1974 Sendai High Court refuses retrial. 1976 Separate high court bench opens retrial 1977/02/15 Not Guilty Sendai High Court Later Actions 1963 Defendant is paroled. 1971 Real criminal comes forward. Retrial is requested 1974 Sendai High Court refuses retrial. 76/07/13 Same court agrees to retrial. 77/02/15 Not guilty State Redress Suit (Civil Court) 81/04 Aomori Plaintiff (Nasu) wins partial victory. Sendai H. C. 86/11 Overturned, redress denied. Supreme Court 90/07 Appeal rejected. Redress denied. |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Yakai 八海 1951/1/24 |
four people |
Murder, Robbery |
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Summary Court Chronology District Court 1952/06/02 One defendant sentenced to death, three to life imprisonment. High Court 1953/9/18 Defendant's appeal is rejected Supreme Court 1957/10/5 Disagrees with lower court decisions. Orders retrial in high court. Later Actions Four rulings 1959 High Court Not Guilty 1962 Not Guilty decision is overturned. Remanded to the High Court 1965 High Court Guilty 1968 Supreme Court Not Guilty Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Incident Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Sunagawa 1957 Sep |
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Summary 1955: Riots occur to prevent the enlargement of a US base. Nearly 1000 people are injured, 23 are arrested, 7 are prosecuted. In 1959, Tokyo District Court Judge Dahte rules the bases violate the constitution. After direct appeal to the Supreme Court, the US ambassador secretly negotiatied with various Ministries and the Supreme Court. The decision was overturned and the defendant’s were found guilty. Court Chronology District Court 1959/March Not guilty High Court Supreme Court 1959 December. The earlier decision is overturned and remanded to the district court. Later Actions 1960 Jan: US-Japan Security treaty is signed. 1960 Jun US-Japan Security treaty is ratified by the Diet. 1961 March Defendants are found guilty and fined 2000 yen. |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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名張 61/03/28 Mie Nabari City Arrested 61/04/02 |
Masaru Okunishi 35 |
Murder x 5 ~~~~~ Yes |
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Summary Five women died at a town meeting afterdrinking wine laced with poison. The investigation focussed on those in possession of the wine that day, was narrowed to three people. The key suspect became thirty five year old Masaru Okunishi. Of the five women who perished, one was his wife and another was a lover. A great tragedy of Japanese justice, Okunishi was found not guilty in his first trial, guilty in the second. Court Chronology District Court 1964/12/23 Not Guilty High Court 69/09/10 Death Supreme Court 1972/06/15 Confirmed Later Actions 73/04/15 First Request for retrial is filed. 2002 7th request for retrial is filed. 2005/04/05 Request for retrial is granted. Prosecution files objection. 2006/12/26 Prosecution’s objection is granted, retrial is revoked. Defendant Currently Housed at Currently on death row in the Nagoya Detention Center. |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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甲山 Hyogo 1974 |
Etsuko Yamada (F 24) Kiyoshi Araki (M ) Yuko Tada (F) |
Yamada: Murder Araki: Perjury Tada: Perjury ~~~ Yamada-yes, after 13 days of interrogation. |
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Summary Two children, a boy and girl, both aged twelve, went missing from the Kabutoyama Institute, a school for retarded children and young adults. The bodies were later retrieved from a septic tank. Etsuko Yamada, a nurse, was arrested, but not charged with murder. She then sued the police and was vengefully rearrested. This marathon case took 25 years. Court Chronology District Court 1985/10/17 Not Guilty ( Kobe DC) High Court 90/03/23 Osaka Not Guilty. Decision is overturned. Remanded to District Court. Supreme Court 92/04/07 Defense's appeal against the remand is refused Later Actions 98/03/24 Kobe District Court Not Guilty 99/09/29 Osaka High Court Not Guilty Prosecution's appeal is rejected. Innocence is confirmed. Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Osaka Child Kidnapping and Murder Case. 大阪の児童誘拐殺人 (勉ちゃん誘拐殺人) Osaka 1982/03/19 |
Nozaki Noboru 野崎登 b. 1922 |
Kidnapping and Murder ~~~~ Yes. |
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Summary A seven year old child's naked and stabbed corpse was found some 17 days after being reported missing. The district court found the evidence to be circumstantial and the confession to be inaccurate. The high court reversed and the defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment. Court Chronology District Court 1988/04/26 Not Guilty High Court 1991/09/26 Life Imprisonment Supreme Court Unknown Later Actions Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges |
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迎賓館・横田裁判 (aka: Bakutori 4 爆取人) 86/04/15 86/05/04 Tokyo |
Taketoshi Suga Hirofumi Sogame Hiroshi Itagaki* |
Manufacture and firing of explosives |
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Summary The three were arrested for manufacturing and launching mortar rounds at Yokota Air Base and the Tokyo State Guest House during a meeting of leaders of developed nations. Though a finding of guilty would result in a sentence of 8 years, the three were incarcerated from Nov 1987 until being freed on bail in December 2002, in excess of 15 years. Court Chronology District Court 04/03/26 Tokyo Not Guilty. Prosecution appeals. High Court 06/01/16 Trial opens and closes the same day. 06/05/19 Judge criticizes lower court decision, and remands the case. Supreme Court 2007/10/18 SC upholds HC decision. Later Actions |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges |
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Fukui Female Middle School Killing 1986 Fukui |
Maekawa Shoji |
Murder (+other charges) |
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Summary Court Chronology District Court 90/09/26 Not Guilty High Court 95/02/09 Not Guilty decision is overturned. Sentenced to 7 years. Supreme Court 97/11/12 Appeal Rejected. Sentence Confirmed Later Actions |
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Case Name Location Date of Incident Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Hoshino 1988/12/08 |
Hoshino (Masami?) |
obscenity ~~~~ ? |
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Summary Court Chronology District Court 90/03/27 7 months at labor High Court 91/03/26 Not Guilty Supreme Court 94/12/22 Not Guilty decision is overturned. Case is remanded to the High Court. Later Actions 96/05/16 Guilty Nagoya High Court 99/03/23 Confirmed. Supreme Court. Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Incident Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges |
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Tokyo 97/03/19 |
Govinda Prasad Mainali Nepali citizen |
Murder, Robbery |
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Summary Nepali Govinda was arrested for the strangulation of a female executive of the Tokyo Power and Electic Company, a high profile case. Govinda admitted to having sex with the woman but denies the murder. The short span of eight months between District Court and High Court decisions was unduly abnormal for a Japanese court. Court Chronology District Court 00/04/14 Not Guilty High Court 00/12/22 Guilty Life Imprisonment Supreme Court 03/10/20 Sentence is confirmed.
Later Actions Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges |
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Tokyo 1997 |
Yasuda Yoshihiro |
Obstructing the return of financial assets to the government |
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Summary Yasuda, outspoken human rights attorney and anti-death penalty advocate, was leading the legal team defending the Aum Shinrikyo religous cult. . He was arrested for obstructing the transfer of funds from a failed real estate company to the state. His incarceration for 300 days has been severely criticized as political vindictiveness. Court Chronology District Court 2003/12/25 Not Guilty High Court 2008/04/23 Guilty Fined 500,000 yen ($5000) Supreme Court Confirmed |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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2000/June |
Tokunaga Robert Brazilian National |
Excessive injury resulting in death |
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Summary Brazilian Roberto Tokunaga was tried for causing excessive injury resulting in death to his 3 year old daughter. The prosecution appealed and Tokunaga was reincarcerated on 01/10/17 at the start of his second trial. (Reincareration is mostly applied to foreigners) Court Chronology District Court 01/05/24 Not Guilty Nagano District Court High Court 02/07/08 Guilty Tokyo High Court Supreme Court 02/11/25 Confirmed. Later Actions Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Moraga 2001 August Tokyo Nagano |
Alejandro Moraga-Reyes Chilean Citizen |
Theft ~~~~ |
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Summary Chilean Alejandro Moraga Reyes, was accused of abetting and participating in the theft of a necklace and then a car. The court found that no necklace was stolen, and that Moraga was not complicit in stealing an automobile. The prosecution appealed and Moraga was reincarcerated on 03/05/29. (Reincareration is mostly applied to foreigners) Court Chronology District Court 03/05/29 Not Guilty Suwa Summary Court High Court Currently being appealed. Supreme Court Later Actions Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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2002 |
Tanabe Masaki b. 1972 |
Kidnapping and Murder of a 22 year old boy ~~~~ Yes |
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Summary Prosecutors allege that Tanabe became angered by the boy's crying while trying to sleep in his minivan in Toyokawa city, Aichi prefecture.. He abducted, transported, and then hurled the boy into the sea from a pier in Mito city. In the absence of material evidence, the district court found the confession unreliable. Court Chronology District Court 2006/01/25 Not Guilty High Court 2007/07/06 17 years Supreme Court Later Actions Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Hyogo 2005/October |
Ogata Hidehiko |
Murder and Robbery of a Pawnshop Owner ~~~ Yes |
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Summary Court Chronology District Court 2008/07/01 Not Guilty High Court 2009/09/24 Guilty Life Imprisonment Supreme Court Pending Later Actions Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Hyogo Self-defense Case Amagasaki, Hyogo 2005/07/_ _ |
2 men aged 18 and 17 at the time of the crime. |
Battery resulting in death. |
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Summary The defendant, along with another two others aged 20 and 19, were charged with the beating death of a 37 year old truck driver in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, in July 2005. Court Chronology District Court Not Guilty High Court 2007/12/20 Earlier verdict is scrapped, remanded to district court for a retrial. Supreme Court Later Actions Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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November 2008 |
Hirui Naotake |
Possesion of stimulant drugs |
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Summary The defendant was originally declared not guilty for procedural reason-not being able to appoint a defense attorney. The high court reversed Court Chronology Tokyo District Court Not Guilty Tokyo High Court 2010/06/07 Earlier verdict is scrapped, sentence of two years and ten months is instituted. Supreme Court Later Actions Defendant Currently Housed at |
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Case Name Location Date of Incident Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Osaka 2007/5/5 |
Oike Osamu 尾池治 |
Arson, Murder x 3 |
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Summary In the first trial, the judge found the DVD confession to be unreliable, and that there are other suspects. Court Chronology District Court 2011/Feb/16 Not Guilty High Court 2011/Feb/23 Guilty 17 Years Supreme Court Later Actions |
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Case Name Location Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Haga Kenji b. 1961 Watanabe Jiro b. 1955 |
Fraud/Blackmail ~~~~ No |
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Summary Court Chronology District Court Osaka 2008/11/28 Not Guilty High Court Osaka 2011/Jun/17 Haga: Guilty 6 Years. Watanabe 2 Years Supreme Court Later Actions |
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Case Name Location Date of Incident Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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b. 1951 |
Anzai Kikuo |
Importing Stimulant Drugs from Malaysia |
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Summary First aquittal under the newly implemented mixed jury system. Anzai, a company executive, assumed he was transporting a souvenir. The item in question contained drugs. Court Chronology District Court (Chiba) 2010/Jun/23 Not Guilty - Mixed Jury System High Court (Tokyo) 2011/Mar/30 Guilty Sentenced to 10 years Supreme Court Later Actions |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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2004 |
Onishi Shouhei + 2 others |
Illegal Entry Trespassing |
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Summary Three activists passed out leaflets at a Self-Defense forces housing complex protesting the use of Self Defense forces in Iraq . 41 days later, they were arrested . Despite the triviality of the charge, the defendants were confined for 75 days. Court Chronology District Court 2004/12/16 Not guilty High Court 2005/12/09 Decision reversed: guilty. Defendants were fined: 100,000 yen (x2) and 200,000 yen (x1). Supreme Court 2008/04/12 Guilty Conviction is Confirmed. Later Actions |
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Case Name Location Date of Crime Date of Arrest |
Defendant's Name(s) (Family First) F=female |
Charges ~~~~ Confessed? |
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Tokyo 2004/12/23 |
Arakawa Yosei |
Trespassing ~~~~~~ |
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Summary Court Chronology District Court 2006/11/28 Not Guilty High Court 2007/12/11 Guilty Supreme Court 2009 Guilty decision is confirmed. Later Actions Defendant Currently Housed at |
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