Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref., July 18 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese high court branch Friday acquitted a 60-year-old man in a high-profile retrial over the 1986 murder of a 15-year-old junior high school girl in the central Japan city of Fukui.

The acquittal of Shoshi Maekawa, who was previously found guilty and served a prison sentence for the crime, was handed down by the Kanazawa branch of Nagoya High Court, presided over by Judge Keisuke Masuda.

In the country, since the end of World War II, at least 21 individuals in 19 cases, including Maekawa, have been acquitted for murder in retrials.

Evidence newly disclosed by the prosecution played a decisive role in the latest ruling. This is likely to influence discussions on the retrial system, including setting rules for evidence disclosure.

Maekawa has consistently denied the charges. His court battle centered on the credibility of testimonies from six acquaintances who claimed to have seen him with blood on him, as there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]