The Day of the Posthumous Retrial Decision

The morning began with the Supreme Court's decision to grant a posthumous retrial for the 1984 Hinomachi murder case, with multiple outlets reporting this as potentially the first such "death retrial" in postwar Japan. Editors across major publications prioritized this judicial development, noting the court's rejection of the prosecution's special appeal and the high probability of a posthumous acquittal. Concurrently, coverage continued on Prime Minister Takaichi's catalog gift controversy during Diet questioning, with her detailed admission of distributing approximately ¥1 million worth of gifts to 315 LDP lawmakers while maintaining their legality. Opposition parties intensified demands for transparency as the issue dominated parliamentary proceedings. By afternoon, attention shifted to the Tokyo stock market's record-breaking surge, with the Nikkei average closing above 58,000 yen for the first time, driven by Bank of Japan policy expectations. Later developments included the Fair Trade Commission's surprise inspection of Microsoft Japan for suspected antitrust violations and the resolution of the Tokyo Skytree elevator incident with identified cable damage.