By Bond Robertson 
For most of his life, Hideko Hakamada worked to get his brother released. For more than four decades, his brother Iwao Hakamada, 88, has been on death row for a murder he did not commit.
The former boxer was convicted in 1968 of killing his boss, his wife and two teenage daughters. On October 8 of this year, a Japanese court found that the evidence against Hakamada was fabricated. During his 56-year stay in prison, he spent a total of 46 years on death row.
Hideko Hakamada supported his brother through sometimes frustrating, sometimes desperate times. She witnessed her brother becoming increasingly mentally ill. There was no other person in the world on death row longer than his brother.
Accidentally on death row
– No matter what people said about me, I lived my own life and valued my freedom. I was not degraded like the sister of a condemned man. I lived without shame, she told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.
It continues:
My little brother was on death row.
Hideko Hakamada worked as an accountant while often helping her brother with legal expenses. I felt helpless many times.
A man died in a violent accident – another has been charged with murder
– I did my best to get my brother to bring up the matter again. She says this was the only way to save his life.
Noticeable changes
During the first years in prison, her brother wrote to her mother every day. Here he affirmed his innocence and expressed optimism about his fate. “I am innocent,” he wrote in a letter to his mother during his 1967 trial.
After the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence in 1980, Hideko Hakamada noticed changes in his brother. The only way she could be sure he was alive was to visit him in person at the Tokyo Detention Center. She was only able to see him for up to 30 minutes each visit. She also sent parcels of fruit and sweets. There were times when he refused to meet her, perhaps due to his deteriorating mental health.
Hideko Hakamada, 91, is the sister of exonerated Iwao Hakamada, who spent more than 50 years on death row before being exonerated. Photo: Eugene Hoshiko/AP/NTB
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To maintain her sense of self, apart from her brother's legal battle, she invested her savings and took out a loan to build a house. She now rents apartments in the building where her brothers live.
Fabricated evidence
In September, former boxer Iwao Hakamada was acquitted. The Shizuoka District Court concluded that police and prosecutors colluded to fabricate and plant evidence against him. They forced him to confess through violent interrogations that lasted for an hour in closed doors.
The sister says she is “full of happiness” after the acquittal, and that being able to vote “means he has finally been allowed back into society.”
“I will definitely go and vote with him. It doesn't matter which candidate he votes for,” she said. “For me, the important thing is that he casts his vote.”
Secret executions
The long time his brother spent on death row had a significant impact on his mental health. He often slips between reality and fantasy, according to his sister. She says he understands the acquittal, but he doesn't seem completely convinced.
In Japan, executions are carried out in secret. The prisoners are not told until the morning that this will happen. In 2007, Japan eased the secrecy a bit by revealing the names of those executed and some details of their crimes.
The missing nurse is found dead
Hakamada was the world's longest-serving death row inmate. He is the fifth death row inmate in post-war Japan to be acquitted in a new trial. This is a rarity in a country where prosecutors have a near-perfect conviction rate and retrials are extremely rare.
He deserves credit for his survival
Hideko Hakamada wants to see changes. She rarely complained about her ordeal, the harsh comments from the public, or the fear of her brother's execution. She has been praised for her positive attitude and strength.
But she says:
– It is Iwao who deserves credit for surviving, because he emerged from captivity after more than 50 years.
The sister is working on keeping fit. Every day she performs a morning routine of exercises, stretching and gymnastics.
– I am 91 years old, but age does not affect me. People say that the average 91-year-old lives more quietly, but that's not what I do. I want to do everything I can while I'm still healthy. I'm not done yet. This is the beginning, Hideko Hakamada tells the AP.
(© NTB)