Deeply bowing in front of Hakamada at his home in Hamamatsu in central Japan, Police Chief Takayoshi Tsuda apologized for the "indescribable mental suffering" inflicted on Hakamada due to the wrongful conviction.
We are deeply sorry, he said and promised a "thorough and proper investigation".
Iwao Hakamada has difficulties expressing himself after the psychological injuries he suffered in prison, but his 91-year-old sister thanked the police chief for the visit.
It's no use complaining to him after all these years. He was not involved in the case and only came here because it was his duty. But I accept his visit because I want my brother to be able to completely break free from his past.
The former boxer was sentenced to death in 1968 for four murders, but was acquitted a month ago after a Japanese court retried the case – 58 years after he was first arrested. Hakamada had then been on parole for ten years, since a court decided to retry the case, as new evidence emerged.
