Fukuoka District Court

 On the 24th, the Fukuoka District Court rejected the seventh retrial request filed by Nobuo Oda (79), a death row inmate convicted of a 1966 robbery–murder–arson case in Fukuoka City. His defense team plans to immediately appeal to the Fukuoka High Court.

According to the finalized ruling, in December 1966, Oda—then 20 years old—broke into the “Maruyo Musen Kawabata” electronics store with a 17‑year‑old accomplice (who later received a 13‑year sentence). They assaulted two employees with a hammer, seriously injuring them, and stole about 220,000 yen. While fleeing, they knocked over a kerosene stove, causing a fire that killed one employee. Oda received the death penalty, which was finalized in December 1970.

Oda has admitted to injuring the victims during the robbery but has consistently denied the arson charge since the appeals stage. He has repeatedly filed for retrial, all of which have been rejected. More than 55 years have passed without his execution, making him the longest‑incarcerated death row inmate in Japan.

In the seventh petition, the defense submitted new evidence, including an expert analysis of stove photographs suggesting the stove may not have fallen, as well as fire‑recreation videos disclosed by prosecutors. They argued that the experiment used overly flammable materials and lacked evidentiary value, creating reasonable doubt about intentional arson.

The court ruled that the new evidence did not raise reasonable doubt regarding the original finding of arson.