home in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, aged 54; he had lived there with his natural mother until her death at age 83 the previous December. His body was only found on 16 October by several retrial supporters who had worried about not hearing from him in some time. According to supporters, the pressures and uncertainties surrounding the reopening of the case, together with his mother's death, had caused Takehiko to periodically display signs of instability and doubts about whether he could continue. He continued to persist with his objective of getting a posthumous retrial, though - writing after his mother's death on a website about the "Teigin Incident": It was her wish and mine and my late father’s to mark in history that Sadamichi Hirasawa is innocent. I will continue this struggle for years to come. At the time of Takehiko's death, he and his lawyers had assembled a team of psychologists to reexamine the witness accounts and investigation process from the trial, to determine if the evidence was credible by present standards. They had been scheduled to submit their position papers to the Tokyo High Court by the end of 2013, ahead of the court verdict on the retrial petition. On 4 December 2013, the Tokyo High Court announced it would drop the plea for a posthumous retrial for Sadamichi Hirasawa following his adopted son's death. As a result, the court effectively declared the case closed, unless other members of the Hirasawa family wish to pursue a retrial. In popular culture A 2009 novel, Occupied City by English author David Peace, who was long a resident in Japan, is based on the Hirasawa case. The case is also referenced in Ian Fleming's 11th James Bond novel, You Only Live Twice (1964), though embellished and exaggerated. In 1964, Nikkatsu released Teigin jiken: Shikeishû (Teijin Incident: Condemned / The Long Death), a docudrama-style recounting of the case. Directed by Kei Kumai, the film provided actor Kinzô Shin with a rare starring role as Hirasawa. See also Iwao Hakamada Matsuo Fujimoto Sakae Menda Mitaka incident Sayama Incident References Further reading Seichō Matsumoto, A story of the Teikoku Bank Incident, 1959 Seichō Matsumoto, The Black Fog of Japan, 1960 J. H. H. Gaute and Robin Odell, The New Murderer's Who's Who, 1996, Harrap Books, London External links Noose or Pneumonia? Time February 15, 1963 Sadamichi Hirasawa Is Dead; Was on Death Row 32 Years