Japan | ‘I couldn’t stop crying for an hour’ – meet the 92-year-old campaigner who saved her brother from execution

Hideko Hakamada’s brother Iwao was sentenced to death for murder in Japan in 1968. She campaigned tirelessly for his release as he spent nearly five decades on death row, being described as the world’s longest-serving death row prisoner.

In September 2024, Hakamada was acquitted after a retrial – a court ruling that the evidence that incriminated him was fabricated. Here, 92-year-old Hideko celebrates her brother’s long-awaited freedom.

I thought my brother would not smile in prison. So I smiled every time I visited him, so that he would not forget to smile. When I smile, Iwao also smiles. That is what I tried to do.

Everyone knew he was on death row, so there was no point in hiding it. I kept a little distance from the world – I didn’t go to social gatherings. I think that’s how I was able to do so many things so hard for Iwao.

I was in my 40s, I had a job. I would come home from work at night, and when I was home alone at night, my eyes would open suddenly in the middle of the night. Then all I could think about was Iwao. I couldn’t go to sleep. I had to go to work in the morning, so I drank whiskey to sleep. I drank too much. I drank every day. Then I realized I wouldn’t be able to help Iwao if I was like that, so I stopped drinking altogether.

I was so focused on Iwao that I had no regard for anything else. I visited him a lot. I felt that I had to help my brother who was suffering. I was fighting for him because I thought it was only natural that he should be acquitted because he was innocent. 

"It is a crime for a human being to kill another human being, no matter what the government says."

In November 1980, when Iwao’s appeal was dismissed and the death penalty was confirmed, everyone was there, from the lawyers to the supporters and newspapers. At that very moment, everyone seemed to be my enemy.

Later, however, I was supported by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations and that kind of feeling has eventually disappeared. I am also very much indebted to Amnesty International. We went on a “Speaking Tour” throughout Japan together. It was about appealing to everyone. There were people who had never heard of the Hakamada case.

Iwao was on death row, and we didn’t know what tomorrow would be. But I believe that appealing to these people made a difference.

I used to accept the death penalty without giving it much thought. But after what happened with Iwao, I became against the death penalty. It is a crime for a human being to kill another human being, no matter what the government says.

"Do not go silent. You must always express that you are against it. We need a world where the death penalty is no more."

Some people may say that there are people who seem to deserve death penalty, but criminals are still human beings. Some may be rehabilitated, and some may not be rehabilitated, but they are still human beings. I believe that we have to take care of human beings. 

I think it is important for everyone to speak out against the death penalty, even if it may or may not work, rather than just saying nothing because no one will listen. Do not go silent. You must always express that you are against it. We need a world where the death penalty is no more. I believe that the death penalty will eventually be abolished.

We have been fighting for 58 years. We have received support not only from all over Japan, but also from overseas. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone for their support. It was not because of the hard work on my end that Iwao was saved. It was only possible because of this support.

When the judge said that the defendant is not guilty in court, the judge’s voice sounded divine. I was so moved and happy that I burst into tears. I couldn’t stop crying for about an hour.

Source: Amnesty International, Staff, February 14, 2025

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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