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Nagoya Prosecutors Say Multiple Officials Knew of Key Exculpatory Report in Fukui Case

The internal report says earlier disclosure of a 1987 police note that undercut a witness’s TV‑date claim likely would have produced a faster acquittal, urging sustained institutional reflection.

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Overview

  • The Nagoya High Public Prosecutors Office published an internal investigation report on July 10, 2026, finding that at least five or six prosecutors knew about a 1987 police investigative report and did not disclose it during earlier proceedings.
  • The 1987 police note recorded that the witness’s claimed TV program date was wrong, a factual mismatch that directly weakened the witness’s testimony used against Maekawa Akishi.
  • Maekawa was first acquitted in a district court, had that verdict reversed in 1995 and saw his conviction finalized by the Supreme Court in 1997 before a second re‑trial led to a confirmed acquittal in August 2025.
  • The Nagoya report concludes non‑disclosure likely delayed the eventual acquittal and describes the prosecution’s handling as 'consistently worthy of reflection,' while media accounts differ slightly on whether five or six prosecutors were identified.
  • The public release may fuel calls for clearer evidence‑disclosure rules and re‑trial reforms, and it has prompted anger from Maekawa, who says the probe did not fully explain the wider failures that kept him jailed for years.