The Fukuoka High Court has ordered the central government and Kumamoto Prefecture to pay 23 million yen in damages to the family of Koki Miyata, who was acquitted after being convicted of a 1985 murder.
The Fukuoka High Court ruled on Monday that police interrogation of Miyata was illegal because it relied on preconceptions and aimed to force a confession. The court said the questioning exceeded permissible limits for voluntary statements.
Miyata had been sentenced to 13 years in prison in 1990 for the murder of his shogi partner Matao Okamura in Kumamoto Prefecture. He was released on parole in 1999, the case was reopened in 2016, and he was acquitted in 2019. Miyata died in October 2020 after filing the lawsuit.
The ruling overturned an earlier district court decision that had held only the national government responsible. The high court found the prefectural police investigation unlawful.