About the Sayama Case

Background

It all started 40 years ago, in a small city called Sayama, located adjacent to Tokyo on May 1,1963. A young high school student whose birthday it was on that date had disappeared after leaving the school grounds; a threatening letter followed that evening, instructing the delivery of a ransom in exchange of her safe return. But not only did the stakeout of 40 police officers miserably fail in catching the man that came to pick up the ransom money, the police blunder meant the kidnapper knew that the warning that "she will have no life in the event of a police involvement" was not heeded. Soon later, the body of the young woman was found, and fueled a nationwide outcry of public criticism against what seemed to be a collapsing and ineffective institution of law enforcement.

In fact, the matter was raised during the Diet (Parliament) session to demand full accountability of law enforcement authorities at the highest level. The police authority found itself being driven into such a political spotlight that it had to arrest the culprit by any means. This is when they shifted their target to the Buraku community located nearby, believing that "those people are more likely to commit such heinous crimes." The larger public as well as the media held the same assumption and supported the racist approaches to the police investigation.

Kazuo, with his partner Sachiko, appeal “that only justice to this case will unlock the ‘invisible hand-cuffs” – without which, says Kazuo, he would never be able to visit his parents’ grave. Kazuo’s parents tirelessly campaigned for his freedom until their death which came too early for Kazuo in prison. To pay the respect owed to them, he argues, he needs to win back his unshackled palms to fold for prayer.

The four decades-long appeal of innocence to us all is a call to uphold the fundamental human rights of each individual including our very own, and to demand the Court liability in perpetrating some of the most egregious cases of systemic racism and abuse of power of the Japanese criminal justice system. The realization of a fair retrial of the Sayama case is a critical step in Japan’s necessary path to create a justice system that genuinely adjudicates justice for every one in Japan.

The UN Recommendations: The Tokyo High Court Must Disclose the List of All Evidence

In response to the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, the defense legal team of the Sayama trial has been demanding disclosure of all evidence used against him in Court. However, the Prosecutor’s Office continues to refuse any disclosure of such evidence while admitting that they do indeed exist.

In the request for a retrial, it is an internationally accepted norm to disclose evidence deemed necessary by the defense to make its case in order to ensure a fair trial. From the perspective of the international human rights conventions ratified by Japan, it is simply unacceptable to suppress evidence, much of which was actually used to support the verdict.

In November of 1993, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights recommended that the Japanese Government “enable the defense to view and use all evidence possessed by police.” Yet, a year ago, the government of Japan submitted a report to the United Nations Secretary-General ostensibly stating that “in Japan, an opportunity to obtain disclosure of evidence is guaranteed.”
 
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