Back to Japan’s death row?

»» Rights groups say case exposes flawed justice system, cruelty of system.

RETRIAL: MAN, 88, TO LEARN HIS FATE TOMORROW.

The world's longest-serving death row prisoner will hear from a Japanese court tomorrow if he will face execution or finally be acquitted, a decade after obtaining a retrial of his murder conviction.

Iwao Hakamada, 88, was jailed under the death penalty for 46 years until he was freed in 2014 pending a retrial.

The former boxer was first convicted in 1968 of killing his boss, the man's wife and their two teenage children. But over the years, questions arose over fabricated evidence and coerced confessions, sparking scrutiny of Japan's justice system, which critics say holds suspects "hostage".

"For so long, we have fought a battle that has felt endless," said Hakamada's sister Hideko, 91.

"But this time, I believe it will be settled".