0:00

You've probably heard of wrongful

0:02

convictions before, but have you ever

0:04

wondered how they happen? How

0:06

an innocent person can end up spending

0:08

decades buying bars for a crime

0:10

they didn't commit? Today,

0:12

we're going to walk you through

0:14

one of Japan's most infamous cases

0:16

of potential judicial error, the

0:18

Sayama incident. It's a

0:20

story that will challenge your faith in

0:22

the justice system. and make you question, how

0:25

do we ensure that the pursuit

0:27

of justice doesn't become a weapon of oppression?

0:30

Today, let's delve into the

0:32

infamous Sayama incident of

0:35

Japan. On

0:47

May 1st, 1963, The

0:49

quiet streets of Sayama City, Japan,

0:51

became the stage for a tragedy that

0:53

would haunt the nation for decades. A

0:56

16 -year -old Yoshinakata sat out

0:58

on her usual walk home from school, unaware

1:01

that this ordinary day would

1:03

be her last. As

1:05

the afternoon sun began to

1:07

dip, Yoshi's family grew increasingly

1:09

worried when she hadn't returned home

1:11

from school by six in the

1:13

evening, though it was her birthday. Around

1:17

7pm, Kenji searched for his

1:19

sister, driving along her school

1:21

route and near the station. Unable

1:24

to find her, he returned home for

1:26

dinner. By 7 .40pm,

1:28

the family's fears were confirmed

1:30

when Kenji found a white envelope

1:32

addressed to their father, tucked

1:35

near the glass door. The

1:37

ransom note demanded 200 ,000

1:39

yen for Yoshi's return, a

1:42

devastating sum for their working class

1:44

family. Police established

1:46

a command center to coordinate their

1:48

response after the kidnappers instructed the

1:50

family to deliver the ransom to

1:52

a specified location the next day.

1:56

By dawn on May 2,

1:58

tension in Tayama City was at

2:00

its peak. The ransom

2:02

exchange was a disaster from the

2:04

start. The missing girl's sister took

2:06

fake money to the designated place,

2:09

with as many as 40 police

2:11

officers hiding and surrounding the site

2:13

to catch the perpetrator and ensure

2:15

the sister's safety. However,

2:17

their presence was detected, and

2:19

the suspect managed to escape

2:21

in the ensuing chaos. The

2:25

sister described the man as being

2:27

26 or 27 to 33

2:29

years old, normal -looking, rather

2:31

weak, quiet and soft

2:33

-spoken. The police officer

2:35

who came also described the man as

2:37

someone who appeared to be over 30

2:39

years old. The botched

2:42

attempt left investigators empty -handed

2:44

and the Nakata family in

2:46

agonizing suspense about Yoshi's

2:48

fate. Then on

2:50

May 4th, the community's worst

2:52

fears were confirmed. A body

2:54

was found buried in an

2:56

alley on a farm. It

2:59

was identified as a 16 -year -old

3:01

Yoshi Nakata. who had been

3:03

missing since May 1st.

3:05

Her body was buried along a farm

3:07

road near the Itoma River just

3:09

outside the woods and into a weed

3:12

field. Yoshi's body

3:14

was found blindfolded with thin

3:16

cords tied around her legs

3:18

and neck. Her hands

3:20

were bound with a towel behind her back. A

3:22

rough rope was placed over her

3:25

body, which was buried face down and

3:27

a cobblestone had been placed on

3:29

her head. Investigators believed she

3:31

had been dead for two to

3:33

three days, and the cause of death

3:35

was asphyxiation from

3:37

strangulation. Based on

3:39

her condition when she was

3:41

found, police concluded that Yoshi had

3:43

been sexually assaulted and then

3:45

murdered. Blood type B

3:47

and semen were found in her

3:49

vagina. There were wounds on

3:52

both of her legs, suggesting she had

3:54

fought back during the assault. Her

3:56

fingernails also had skin fragments, believed

3:58

to belong to the perpetrator. The

4:01

news shocked the nation. It was

4:03

widely covered by the media, and

4:05

people voiced strong opinions about the

4:08

case. Many criticized the police for

4:10

failing to do their job, catching

4:12

the suspect. Even

4:14

though Yoshi's sister had been in

4:16

close contact with a man, thought to

4:18

be the perpetrator, the police

4:20

were unable to gather any useful

4:22

information, not even a description of his

4:25

appearance. As grief

4:27

and anger swept through the

4:29

city, police found themselves under intense

4:31

pressure to bring the killer

4:33

to justice. Little

4:36

did anyone know that this

4:38

tragic discovery was just the

4:40

beginning of a case that

4:42

would expose deep -rooted societal issues

4:44

and challenge the very foundations

4:46

of Japan's criminal justice

4:48

system. Unable to

4:50

withstand the intense scrutiny, the

4:53

police chief resigned, a move

4:55

that only fueled public skepticism

4:57

about the investigation's competence. As

5:00

the police scrambled to regain

5:02

control of the narrative and the

5:04

investigation, they made a

5:07

decision that would have far -reaching

5:09

consequences. Their focus

5:11

shifted towards the Puraku

5:13

community, a group already marginalized

5:15

and discriminated against in

5:18

Japanese society. On

5:20

May 11th, investigators discovered

5:22

a crucial clue, a

5:24

missing shovel. Found

5:26

about 124 meters from where Yushi's

5:28

body had been buried, the

5:31

shovel was traced back to a pig

5:33

farm. This discovery

5:35

shifted the investigation's focus to

5:37

those connected to the farm. Near

5:40

the Nakata family's home was the

5:42

Ishida pig farm, run by

5:44

Purakumin workers. Purakumin,

5:47

or village people, are

5:49

descendants of Japan's pre

5:51

-meiji feudal class associated

5:53

with so -called unclean

5:55

jobs like executioners,

5:57

undertakers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers,

6:00

and tanners. Despite

6:02

the abolition of the feudal

6:04

caste system, Purakumin descendants still

6:06

face discrimination. The

6:08

police's focus on the farm,

6:10

fueled by stereotypes about theft

6:12

and violence, sparked debate,

6:15

with many criticizing their actions

6:17

as classist and discriminatory. Among

6:20

the 20 or so suspects that

6:22

emerged was 24 -year -old Ishikawa

6:24

Katsuo, who would soon become the

6:27

center of this case. Ishikawa's

6:31

life had been marked by

6:33

poverty and lack of opportunity

6:35

from the start. Born on

6:37

January 14, 1939, he

6:39

grew up without even basic elementary school

6:41

education. The

6:43

investigation took a sinister turn

6:45

when Isikawa was arrested

6:47

on unrelated charges. This

6:50

initial arrest gave the police

6:52

the opening they needed to intensify

6:54

their focus on the Puraku

6:56

community. Societal prejudices

6:58

played a significant role

7:01

in this decision. as Burakumin

7:03

were often stereotyped as

7:05

criminal and lazy. As

7:07

the police zeroed in on

7:09

Ishikawa, they employed tactics that

7:11

raised serious questions about the

7:14

integrity of their investigation. They

7:17

subjected him to the Substitute

7:19

Prison System, a controversial practice

7:21

that allowed them to detain

7:23

him for extended periods without

7:25

formal charges. During

7:27

his 47 days in custody, Ishikawa's

7:30

access to legal counsel was

7:32

severely restricted, often limited to just

7:34

five minutes at a time. The

7:37

treatment Ishikawa endured during this

7:39

period was nothing short of grueling.

7:42

He faced interrogation sessions lasting

7:44

up to 17 hours,

7:46

during which he was subjected

7:48

to intense psychological pressure. But

7:51

the investigators didn't stop at

7:53

pressuring Ishikawa directly. In

7:55

a particularly troubling development, they

7:58

began making threats against his

8:00

family. They warned

8:02

him that his relatives would face

8:04

consequences if he didn't cooperate, exploiting

8:06

his concern for his loved ones

8:08

to push him towards a confession. As

8:12

the days wore on, the relentless

8:14

questioning and isolation began to take their

8:16

toll on Ishikawa. The

8:18

police, sensing his vulnerability, made

8:21

a calculated move. They misled

8:23

him about the consequences of confessing,

8:25

promising that if he admitted

8:27

to the crime, he would serve

8:29

only 10 years instead of

8:31

facing the death penalty. Under

8:34

this immense pressure, and with

8:36

no end in sight, Ishikawa

8:39

finally broke. With

8:41

Ishikawa's confession in hand, the

8:43

police declared victory. he was

8:45

officially named as the prime

8:47

suspect in Yushi's murder, setting

8:49

the stage for a trial

8:52

that would captivate and divide

8:54

the nation. At

8:56

his first trial, Ishikawa pled guilty, and

8:59

the court ruled that his confession

9:01

was trustworthy. On

9:03

March 11, 1964, he

9:05

was convicted of aggravated murder,

9:08

sexual assault, and kidnapping, and

9:10

sentenced to death. However,

9:13

during his appeal, Ishikawa claimed

9:15

innocence, alleging that his

9:17

confession was coerced through isolation

9:19

and physical threats. The

9:22

case against Ishikawa rested on a

9:24

series of striking claims from the

9:26

police. First, the

9:28

ransom note became a central piece

9:30

of evidence. Investigators

9:32

pointed out unusual writing

9:35

habits in the note, like

9:37

using katakana instead of

9:39

hiragana. and mixing Chinese and

9:41

Arabic numerals for dates. These

9:44

quirks matched Ishikawa's known

9:46

handwriting, including a peculiar way

9:48

of writing kanji particles. Then

9:51

there were the testimonies. Ishikawa

9:53

had confessed to seeing a

9:55

three -wheeled car and asking

9:57

a farmer for directions while

9:59

delivering the ransom note. The

10:02

police confirmed the car's presence and

10:04

tracked down the farmer who identified

10:06

Ishikawa in a line -up. Also,

10:09

during the attempted transfer of the ransom,

10:12

the older sister of Yoshi and

10:14

the ex -military policeman heard a voice

10:16

that was coming from the kidnapper.

10:19

Both of them testified that the

10:21

voice shares an extreme similarity

10:23

with Ishikawa's voice. The

10:25

evidence didn't stop there. When Yoshi's

10:28

body was found, her hands

10:30

were tied with towels from two

10:32

specific distributors. Investigators

10:34

traced both towels back to Ishikawa.

10:36

one of the few people

10:38

with access to them. His

10:41

alibi, that he had

10:43

been working with his brother all day,

10:45

was later exposed as a lie. To

10:48

the authorities, the case

10:50

seemed solid, but Ishikawa's defense

10:52

and supporters painted a

10:54

different picture. Ishikawa,

10:57

they argued, was a victim

10:59

of coercion. As a

11:01

member of the Puraku community, he had

11:03

grown up in poverty without even

11:05

an elementary school education. So

11:07

at the time of his

11:09

arrest, Ishikawa was illiterate. Supporters

11:12

claimed he couldn't have written the

11:15

ransom note, which used complex

11:17

Chinese characters and showed a level

11:19

of skill far beyond his

11:21

abilities. A prominent

11:23

linguist Susumu Ono analyzed the

11:25

note and concluded it wasn't

11:27

written by Ishikawa. There

11:30

was also no physical evidence linking

11:32

him to the note, no

11:34

fingerprints on the paper or envelope.

11:36

Later, handwriting experts testified

11:39

that the ransom notes writing didn't

11:41

match Ishikawa's. Prosecutors

11:43

presented a fountain pen.

11:45

They claimed belonged to

11:47

Yoshinakata, allegedly found at

11:49

Ishikawa's home. However,

11:51

this piece of evidence was

11:53

only discovered after multiple searches

11:55

of his residence, casting doubt

11:57

on the thoroughness of the

11:59

initial investigation. A

12:02

major flaw in the case was the

12:04

lack of witnesses. Despite Ishikawa's

12:06

confession stating he and Yoshi

12:08

walked together in broad daylight near

12:11

a busy festival with over

12:13

800 attendees and workers in nearby

12:15

fields, no one reported seeing

12:17

them together. This

12:19

absence of testimony was strange,

12:21

especially given the path's visibility. The

12:25

confession also claimed Ishikawa killed

12:27

Yoshi to silence her screams

12:29

around 4pm, yet a man

12:31

working just 20 meters away

12:33

heard no screams, only faint

12:35

festival sounds over 500 meters

12:37

away. In a later

12:40

questioning, the man mentioned hearing

12:42

a voice before 3 .30pm, but

12:44

it came from the opposite side

12:46

of the forest. This

12:48

vague statement was used in

12:50

the trial as evidence, despite its

12:52

questionable relevance. Crucially, the

12:55

full details of the man's

12:57

testimony, including his exact location,

12:59

were not shared with Ishikawa's

13:02

defense team until 1981, 18

13:04

years after the first

13:06

trial, further undermining the case's

13:08

credibility. Also, there

13:10

were inconsistencies in Kazu Ishikawa's

13:13

confession. His confession

13:15

claimed that the victim, Yoshinakata, suffered

13:17

a head injury during the

13:19

struggle, but soil analysis found

13:21

no blood traces. It

13:23

also stated he strangled her with

13:25

his right hand, yet the

13:27

coroner's report indicated no related bruises,

13:30

instead showing cloth -like strangulation

13:32

marks. Ishikawa allegedly carried

13:34

the 54 kilogram body over

13:36

a long distance without slinging it

13:38

over his shoulder, but

13:40

defense experiments showed it was impossible for

13:42

even strong men to do so. No

13:45

rope marks were found on the

13:47

victim's ankles, despite claims she

13:49

was lowered into a hole by

13:51

a rope. Additionally, footprints at

13:53

the scene did not match Ishikawa's.

13:56

Despite these inconsistencies and the

13:59

lack of solid physical evidence,

14:01

the court dismissed much of the defense's

14:03

arguments. They speculated Ishikawa could

14:05

have copied the ransom notes

14:07

Chinese characters from a magazine,

14:09

explaining the errors. The

14:12

court's refusal to address these

14:14

inconsistencies left many questioning whether

14:16

Ishikawa was truly guilty or

14:18

if he was being scapegoated

14:20

in a deeply flawed investigation. After

14:24

a decade on death row, Ishikawa's

14:26

sentence was commuted to life

14:28

imprisonment with a possibility of parole.

14:31

This development marked the beginning

14:33

of a new chapter in

14:35

Ishikawa's life, a relentless fight for

14:37

justice from behind bars that

14:40

would span half a century and

14:42

expose deep -rooted flaws in Japan's

14:44

criminal justice system. Behind

14:47

bars, Kasuo Ishikawa underwent

14:49

a remarkable transformation. A

14:51

guard took it upon himself to

14:53

teach Ishikawa how to read and write,

14:56

opening up a world of knowledge

14:58

that had been previously inaccessible. This

15:01

newfound literacy allowed Ishikawa to

15:03

delve into the complex

15:06

social issues surrounding the Puraku

15:08

community. As Ishikawa

15:10

educated himself, support for his case

15:12

grew outside the prison walls. The

15:15

Puraku Liberation League became a powerful

15:17

ally, advocating for his legal

15:19

struggle as part of a broader

15:21

movement against discrimination. Their

15:24

efforts helped raise awareness about

15:26

the injustices in Ishikawa's case

15:28

and the systemic prejudices faced

15:30

by the Purako community in

15:32

Japan. Despite

15:34

this growing support, Ishikawa's path

15:37

to justice was far from

15:39

smooth. His appeals for retrial

15:41

faced numerous setbacks. The

15:43

first appeal took eight years to

15:45

be rejected, while the

15:47

second dragged on for an

15:50

astounding 17 years before being

15:52

dismissed. Undeterred,

15:54

Ishikawa and his defense team

15:56

filed a third appeal in

15:58

2006, focusing on new evidence

16:00

that supported his innocence. In

16:03

1994, after serving

16:05

32 years of hard labor, Ishikawa

16:08

was released on parole. However,

16:11

freedom came with its own

16:13

challenges. The stigma of his

16:15

wrongful conviction followed him, making it

16:18

difficult for him to reintegrate into

16:20

society. Today, at

16:22

86 years old, Ishikawa continues

16:24

his fight for justice. He

16:26

has made public appearances to

16:28

discuss his case and advocate

16:30

for reform, stating, The

16:34

Sayama

16:38

incident stands as a haunting

16:40

reminder of how easily

16:42

justice can be derailed. Kazuo

16:44

Ishikawa's decades -long struggle exposes

16:47

deep flaws in Japan's

16:49

legal system. particularly its treatment

16:51

of marginalized communities. His

16:53

case shines a spotlight on

16:56

the dangers of coerced confessions

16:58

and the critical need for

17:00

fair and unbiased trials. What's

17:03

also noteworthy is that the Tsayama

17:05

case is surrounded by a

17:08

string of mysterious deaths that make

17:10

it even more unsettling. Okutomi

17:13

Genji, a former farmhand for

17:15

the Nakata family, ended himself

17:17

by drinking pesticide and throwing

17:19

himself down a well just

17:21

two days after Yoshi's body

17:23

was found, right before his

17:25

wedding. Okutomi

17:27

had become one of the suspects due

17:29

to his type B blood and

17:31

handwriting that resembled the writing on the

17:33

ransom note connected to the case, but

17:36

the police barely investigated

17:38

him. Yoshi's older

17:40

sister, Tomie, who had testified

17:42

that the kidnapper's voice sounded

17:44

like Ishikawa's, also took her

17:46

life shortly after appearing in

17:49

court. Rumors of

17:51

a love triangle between Tomie,

17:53

Yoshi, and Okutomi only added

17:55

to the speculation. And

17:58

other deaths followed. A

18:00

number of key figures including

18:02

Masuda Hideo and Ogawa Shogoro

18:04

passed away under mysterious circumstances

18:06

after the trial began. These

18:10

deaths, combined with a rushed

18:12

investigation, raised serious questions. Were

18:15

these tragedies the result of

18:17

pressure and guilt, or did

18:19

they point to something more

18:21

sinister? It's hard not

18:23

to wonder if the real culprit

18:25

slipped away while others paid the

18:27

price. If Ishikawa

18:29

is ultimately proven innocent, this

18:32

case would remain a haunting

18:34

example of justice gone wrong.

18:36

A permanent, unsolved mystery where

18:39

the real perpetrator escaped accountability

18:41

due to a flawed patchwork

18:43

investigation. The statute

18:45

of limitations has expired, meaning

18:47

even if the true culprit were

18:49

identified, they would never

18:51

face punishment under the law. So,

18:55

what's your take on this case?

18:57

Could Ishikawa really be the

18:59

killer, or was the man who

19:01

suddenly took his life the

19:03

true perpetrator, with the police framing

19:05

Ishikawa as a scapegoat to

19:07

protect their reputation? Or

19:09

do you think there's another theory

19:11

altogether? Share your thoughts in the

19:13

comment section, and that is all

19:16

for today. Thanks for watching.