A former death row inmate cleared of murder is giving new life to a fund that tries to help those facing execution secure a retrial.
Masao Akahori, 85, spent more than 30 years on death row for the murder of a 6-year-old girl in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture. He was acquitted in 1989 and is now an ardent campaigner against capital punishment.
"I was able to avoid being hanged for a crime I didn't commit, but the important thing is to end the death penalty," Akahori said in a video message at a recent meeting in Tokyo of campaigners against capital punishment.