A Nepalese man who spent 15 years behind bars in Japan after being wrongfully accused of murder is thanking supporters on his first return to the country since his release in 2012.

Govinda Prasad Mainali, a former restaurant employee who was convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence of killing a 39-year-old Japanese woman in 1997, also attended a meeting to call for the eradication of wrongful convictions.

The 51-year-old said Saturday he has "yet to receive an apology from Japanese police, prosecutors or judges." During an interview, which was also attended by his wife, Radha, he called it "unreasonable and impermissible."