Japanese Police Chief Apologizes to Man Acquitted After 50 Years on Death Row

TOKYO—A Japanese police chief on Monday apologized in person to Iwao Hakamada for his decades-long suffering that started from an overbearing investigation and wrongful conviction that had kept him on death row until last month, when he was acquitted in a retrial. The 88-year-old Hakamada, a former boxer, was acquitted by the Shizuoka District Court, which said police and prosecutors had collaborated to fabricate and plant evidence against him, and forced him to confess with violent, hourslong closed interrogations. The acquittal was finalized earlier this month when the prosecution waived its right to appeal—though it complained about the ruling—finally ending Hakamada’s nearly 60-year legal battle to prove his innocence....