The Kumamoto District Court on Thursday decided to retry an 83-year-old man who served a prison term for fatally stabbing an acquaintance in 1985.

The court said "doubts have been raised" over the credibility of Koki Miyata's initial confessions, pointing to "contradictions" found between what he said and evidence presented by Miyata's defense team.

Miyata initially confessed to investigators that he killed the 59-year-old acquaintance. He also pleaded guilty in the first hearing at the Kumamoto District Court in April 1985. But he later said, "Most of what I have confessed was not true."