Sentenced to death for killing a farmer to claim an insurance payout in 1963, Tsuneki Tomiyama played his last card in early December when he and his support group filed a clemency plea.
At 85, Tomiyama is the oldest man on Japan's death row. As of the end of December, there were 57 people waiting for the day their death sentences would be carried out.
"We were preparing to seek a retrial (for the third time), but since Tomiyama was moved to a prison hospital and his health is getting worse, we thought we would rather apply for clemency," said Michio Shinohara, who has supported Tomiyama for more than 35 years because he believes he is innocent.