JAPAN. RETRIAL SOUGHT IN CASE OF PRISONER EXECUTED IN 1947 MURDER CASE

the family of Takeo Nishi, a man executed in 1975 over a murder in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture asked the Fukuoka High Court for a retrial of the case, saying he had been tortured into confessing, lawyers for the family said.
Nishi was executed at age 60 for the shooting death of a Japanese black market dealer in military uniforms and a Chinese trader, and for robbing them of 100,000 yen on May 20, 1947 in the city of Fukuoka in the so-called ''Fukuoka Incident.''
It is rare for a retrial appeal to be filed for an executed convict, the lawyers said.
Police ''obtained a confession through torture, such as hanging him upside down, and he was forced to sign a false confession document,'' said one of the lawyers, adding that Nishi was convicted on the basis of false evidence.
The lawyers also said Nishi was not present at the murder scene when it happened, and there has been no evidence that he colluded with others allegedly involved in the case. Seven people including Nishi were arrested in connection with the case, and six of them were convicted.
Two of the six -- Kenjiro Ishii, 88, and Kiyoki Fujinaga, 80, -- also filed for a retrial, the lawyers said.
At a news conference held after the filing, Ishii said, ''It is a false accusation that Nishi committed the murder and robbery.''
Ishii, who admitted to killing the two, initially received the death sentence, but his punishment was later reduced to life imprisonment after he was given an amnesty. Convicted of robbery and murder, Ishii was released in 1989 on parole. Ishii had testified about the torture Nishi received in video footage, which was submitted to the court as new evidence, the lawyers said.