The Osaka High Court on Monday approved a posthumous retrial for a man who was convicted of murdering a 69-year-old woman in 1984 in western Japan, upholding a lower court's decision.
In accepting the second retrial plea sought by the family of Hiromu Sakahara, who died of illness age 75 while serving his term in 2011, the Osaka High Court said the new evidence presented in the latest plea is "clear" and "should (warrant) an acquittal."
"There is reason to doubt" the finalized ruling that convicted Sakahara of murder, the high court said.