353:, which he planned to sell to buy clothing for the newborn. After his release, he moved the family to Fukuoka and started working as a taxi driver, but would be arrested twice more: once for auto theft and another for participating in a shoplifting gang. In total, he had spent 17 years in prison prior to beginning his murder spree.
369:, where she was living with a 28-year-old female relative. The pair, they plied her with what's described as either alcohol or a sleeping pill depending on the source, then dragged the woman to the bathtub, where they held her head underwater until she drowned. The autopsy report erroneously determined the cause of death as
346:, he returned to his previous job at the kamaboko store. At that time, he received three marriage proposals, including by the daughter of the store owner, all of whom liked him because of his kind personality. In the end, he married the store owner's daughter, as she had been 3-months pregnant with their child.
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at the behest of a friend. For this, he was ordered to serve another year and a half in the
Kagoshima Prison. Hamada would be arrested twice for theft following his release, and while serving time at the Miyazaki Prison, his mother died from an illness. Taking into account his personal circumstances,
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incidental and that his confessions were unreliable. In response, Ito dismissed the claim, saying that the convict's confessions were reinforced by those of his late wife and additional evidence reinforcing his guilt. By doing this, he effectively finalized the death sentence. During the process, 20
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Initially, the
Fukuoka Prefectural Police truly believed that the man's death was accidental, but after examining the circumstances closely, including the fact that the victim's friends had taken out a large insurance policy; had been at his house and that one of them, "B", had told an acquaintance
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Before they could get the insurance policy, the insurance company, feeling that the fee was too high, returned the premium to "A" and temporarily canceled the contract. Hamada and his associates were unable to obtain money for this murder, aside from a small amount of yen obtained from "B", who had
432:
On
October 4, after more than a week of interrogation, all three confessed to killing the man and that they had planned to divide the insurance money. They were charged with murder, and authorities began to pay special attention to Hamada after learning that his wife's relative and son-in-law had
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In 1979, Hamada was approached by his former shoplifting associate and his 44-year-old friend (hitherto referred to as "A" and "B", respectively), both of whom were rabid gamblers and struggling with debts. "A" informed Hamada that he planned to insure one of his workers and subsequently kill the
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Due to the family's poor financial situation, Hamada did not wear pants, and had to attend physical education using pants provided by the school staff. He also never wore sneakers or boots, and on sunny days wore straw sandals. Hamada later claimed that one of his teachers would always give him a
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On March 29, 1982, the three defendants were found guilty by
Justice Shigeomi Akiyoshi, who addressed Hamada as a "greedy, systematically calm killer of relatives who claims no responsibility for the crimes and shows no regrets". Not long, as per the prosecutors' request, Hamada was sentenced to
468:
On June 19, 1984, Hamada and "B" attempted to appeal their sentences before
Justice Shigeru Yamamoto, who promptly dismissed them and upheld the initial verdicts. On March 8, 1988, Hamada appealed again, this time before Justice Masami Ito, with his attorneys claiming that the 1978 deaths were
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Around midnight on June 26, 2017, a prison guard patrolling the death row noticed that the sleeping Hamada had begun vomiting. When medical personnel was brought in, they found that he was not breathing, and quickly transported him to a nearby hospital in
Fukuoka. There he was kept on
385:, about 4 kilometers away from the house, where he held him underwater until he drowned. The pair later claimed that the boy had died from an accidental fall owing to paint thinner poisoning, and were awarded 10 million yen from an insurance policy they had taken out on the victim.
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On
November 21, Hamada's wife was arrested on suspicion of forgery, but during the interrogation, she admitted to killing her relative and her son-in-law in conjunction with her husband. Before she could be charged, however, she had to be hospitalized for treatment of
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Approximately three months later, on July 1, Hamada's wife was tasked with watching over her 16-year-old son-in-law, a high school student, who was left with them as her brother was suffering from an illness. At her suggestion, Hamada made the teenager inhale
317:
Hamada was arrested for the crime in August 1946, and tried to explain himself to the arresting officer by claiming that the victim "did not deserve compensation because was poor". When this was presented at his trial, the angered judge refused to give him a
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when Hamada was in the second grade, rendering her immobile for about a year and a half. As a result, the young man had to leave school to take care of her and the household, performing tasks such as transporting water provided by the neighbor on a
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According to Hamada, the incentive for the murders arose after his wife lent 7 million yen to his 42-year-old associate from the shoplifting group. As a result, he turned towards life insurance policies to gather money quickly.
287:, and on weekends, he was engaged in airplane assembly work while simultaneously continuing working at the kamaboko store. In July 1945, Hamada was informed that he was going to be transferred to the Fujisawa Navy Air Corps in
403:
On the night of May 8, all of them gathered at "A"s house and let the worker drink plenty of alcohol. When he became drunk and fell unconscious, Hamada put into a small dumping truck owned by "B" and drove to the road behind
314:, where he worked alongside people from his hometown. One day, after being invited by a friend to have lunch, he abruptly quit; it was later discovered that he had been stealing supplies from the employees' dormitory.
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that his mother and uncle had to pay for. His mother, a farmer who occasionally ventured into the neighbors' home to work as a housekeeper, was the main source of the family's income, but she began suffering from
412:. Then, around 3 AM on the next morning, after confirming that there was no traffic, he got the worker out of the car and laid him on the street, where he ran him over with the dump truck.
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On April 17, the trio chose a 37-year-old with no known relatives, whom they insured in a contract for 60 million yen provided by the Mitsui Life
Insurance Company, paying 30,000 yen as an
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after classes, a kind act that made him work harder than others. While he only attended three of the six years of elementary school, Hamada excelled at math and the
1096:
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886:"福岡の保険金殺人 連れ子や親類も"えじき" 用水・ふろに沈める" [Defendant in Fukuoka insurance murder also submerged child and relative in the 'Ejiki' irrigation canal and the bath].
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Despite the fact that he was expecting a child soon, Hamada continued stealing. He was eventually arrested after he was caught stealing wires from a nearby
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In March 1980, amidst trial proceedings, Hamada's wife died from her illnesses, aged 51. As a result, prosecution dismissed all charges against her.
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death, while "A" and "B" were both sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment as accomplices (the latter's sentence would later be reduced by two years).
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about a murder, all three were arrested on
September 27, 1979. All three defendants were initially charged with various degrees of fraud,
445:, but when police came looking for her, they were informed that she had escaped in the early hours of October 25. The wife travelled to
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activists who were attending the proceedings shouted out "Don't enforce the death penalty", resulting in the dismissal of one of them.
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822:"従業員に保険、殺す？ 雇い主ら三人、別件で逮捕 福岡のひき逃げ事件" [Killing employees for insurance? Three employers arrested in Fukuoka hit-and-run case].
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for his crimes, but died before he could be executed. At the time of his death, at the age of 90, he was the oldest convict on
842:"保険金連続殺人 1人死刑、2人に懲役 福岡地裁判決" [Fukuoka District Court decision: One death, two life sentences for multiple murderers].
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In the following years on death row, Hamada would unsuccessfully petition for a retrial twice, but was rejected both times.
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at the recommendation of his older brother, where he worked along railroad crossings, but abruptly quit not long after.
537:[Takeshige Hamada, a convicted murderer on death row, died at 90 years old, the oldest convict on death row].
373:, and the Hamadas became the beneficiaries of her life insurance policies, all of which amounted to 1.5 million yen.
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and remained hidden in the local area, but on the night of
November 20, she was tracked down to a friend's house in
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to go buy ice cream, and was often entrusted with work related to the soroban or books, but not long after the
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about 10 times per day, collecting firewood from the nearby mountain and washing clothes in the nearby stream.
932:"Death penalty confirmed for principle defendant in Fukuoka insurance murder" [福岡の連続保険金殺人事件の主犯、死刑確定].
862:"Fukuoka High Court sentences principle defendant in insurance murder to death" [連続保険金殺人の主犯、死刑 福岡高裁].
912:"保険金ねらい殺人 福岡で雇い主ら ひき逃げ事故装う" [Aim of Fukuoka insurance murder was to stage a hit-and-run accident].
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and released, but was quickly returned to prison after he was caught trying to sell stolen goods on the
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as a maintenance engineer on September 1, but this was prematurely cut short due to the end of the war.
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by the hospital staff, but died two hours after his arrival, aged 90. His cause of death was listed as
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231:). His father died of an unspecified illness when he was five years old, leaving behind a debt of 60
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Immediately after graduating elementary school in March 1939, Hamada's uncle got him a job at a
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257:, always scoring 100 points at the latter and competing solo in tournaments with it.
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497:. At the time of his death, he was the oldest convict housed on Japan's death row.
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396:. As the man was known as a heavy drinker, the criminals devised a plot to stage a
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On March 25, 1978, Hamada and his 50-year-old wife went to the latter's house in
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975:] (in Japanese). Japanese Association for Abolishion of the Death Penalty.
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who, together with his wife and two accomplices, murdered three people over
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After leaving the Japanese National Railways, Hamada found work at the
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949:"保険金殺人 浜田に死刑" [Death penalty for insurance murderer Hamada].
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99:
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Do you want to reach 90 prisoners on death row? Voices from prison
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Takeshige Hamada was born on March 10, 1927, in the small town of
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worker, and asked him to aid in the murder, to which he agreed.
997:] (in Japanese). Odoji Sachiko Foundation. May 23, 2012.
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From death row to you: I don't want the country to kill me
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After the end of the war, Hamada found employment at the
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sold the dump truck immediately after the incident.
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1042:Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II
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279:On October 20, 1943, he was sent to work at a
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8:
433:died in similarly suspicious circumstances.
276:began, he was drafted to serve in the army.
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1102:Serial killers who died in prison custody
335:Hamada was pardoned by the Parole Board.
400:while he was out wandering the streets.
547:from the original on September 20, 2021
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1097:Prisoners sentenced to death by Japan
1067:Japanese prisoners sentenced to death
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1077:People convicted of murder by Japan
1062:Japanese people convicted of murder
326:, however, Hamada was prematurely
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967:Takeshige Hamada (May 25, 1987).
890:(in Japanese). November 22, 1979.
507:List of serial killers by country
283:factory based behind what is now
193:, March 10, 1927 – June 26, 2017)
1092:People from Kagoshima Prefecture
268:. There, he would often drive a
1032:20th-century Japanese criminals
916:(in Japanese). October 5, 1979.
16:Deceased Japanese serial killer
1057:Japanese murderers of children
953:(in Japanese). March 29, 1982.
846:(in Japanese). March 30, 1982.
543:(in Japanese). June 26, 2017.
535:"保険金殺人の浜田武重死刑囚が死亡 ９０歳、死刑囚で最高齢"
1:
938:(in Japanese). March 8, 1988.
868:(in Japanese). June 19, 1984.
828:(in Japanese). July 27, 1979.
338:After briefly working as a
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296:Japanese National Railways
207:from 1978 to 1979. He was
1087:People convicted of fraud
1082:People convicted of theft
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1037:Deaths from asphyxiation
1072:Japanese serial killers
1052:Japanese male criminals
201:life insurance policies
487:artificial ventilation
477:Imprisonment and death
285:Minami-Fukuoka Station
991:死刑囚90人 とどきますか、獄中からの声
969:死刑囚からあなたへ 国には殺されたくない
429:and counterfeiting.
312:Yamaguchi Prefecture
1047:Japanese fraudsters
804:. pp. 152–153.
790:. pp. 151–152.
748:. pp. 146–147.
734:. pp. 145–146.
720:. pp. 142–145.
706:. pp. 141–142.
661:. pp. 139–140.
644:. pp. 137–139.
630:. pp. 134–136.
616:. pp. 130–133.
588:. pp. 126–127.
289:Kanagawa Prefecture
131:Span of crimes
78:Cause of death
471:anti-death penalty
443:esophageal varices
320:suspended sentence
209:sentenced to death
165:September 27, 1979
951:The Asahi Shimbun
935:The Asahi Shimbun
914:The Asahi Shimbun
888:The Asahi Shimbun
406:Kyushu University
394:insurance premium
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161:Date apprehended
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82:Asphyxiation
64:(2017-06-26)
1027:2017 deaths
1022:1927 births
398:hit-and-run
351:paddy field
310:factory in
274:Pacific War
238:periostitis
1016:Categories
513:References
410:Higashi-ku
340:coal miner
219:Early life
35:1927-03-10
439:cirrhosis
264:store in
213:death row
135:1978–1979
545:Archived
501:See also
328:pardoned
262:kamaboko
149:State(s)
357:Murders
255:soroban
205:Fukuoka
154:Fukuoka
140:Country
122:Victims
117:Details
72:, Japan
70:Fukuoka
1001:
979:
802:Hamada
788:Hamada
774:Hamada
760:Hamada
746:Hamada
732:Hamada
718:Hamada
704:Hamada
690:Hamada
673:Hamada
659:Hamada
642:Hamada
628:Hamada
614:Hamada
600:Hamada
586:Hamada
572:Hamada
447:Sasebo
308:Toyobo
100:Murder
993:[
971:[
457:Trial
367:Shime
270:trike
266:Ōmuta
251:bento
229:Izumi
143:Japan
111:Death
51:Izumi
47:Japan
999:ISBN
977:ISBN
553:2021
441:and
182:浜田武重
59:Died
29:Born
491:CPR
451:Sue
408:in
383:Umi
342:in
233:yen
203:in
1018::
922:^
896:^
874:^
852:^
834:^
810:^
681:^
650:^
561:^
520:^
215:.
185:,
102:x3
45:,
1007:.
985:.
555:.
179:(
125:3
53:)
37:)
33:(
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