their confessions and professed innocence, three of the defendants were found innocent, and the remaining 17 were again found guilty. Four received death sentences, and two received life imprisonment. The cause of the defendants was taken up by author Hirotsu Kazuo, who wrote an essay in the literary journal Chuokoron, which led to an upsurge in support by leading intellectuals and literary figures, including Yasunari Kawabata, Naoya Shiga, Saneatsu Mushanokoji, Seicho Matsumoto, Eiji Yoshikawa and others. On August 10, 1959, the issue reached the Supreme Court of Japan, which referred it back to the Sendai High Court for a retrial. In the interim, it became public that a document confirming the alibi of the accused had been hidden by the prosecution during the previous trials. Forensic testing—showing that the spanner found near the accident site was the wrong size and could not have been used to cause the accident—had also been suppressed. On August 8, 1961, in a retrial at the Sendai High Court, all defendants were found innocent. The prosecution protested the decision, but on September 12, 1963, the verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court. Legal proceedings dragged on until 1970, when the defendants were finally awarded compensation from the Japanese government for false arrest and imprisonment. In popular culture Several movies have been made of the Matsukawa incident, including a 1961 expose film directed by Satsuo Yamamoto titled the Matsukawa Jiken, starring Ken Utsui. The production cost of 45 million yen was raised entirely by donation. See also List of rail accidents (1930–49) List of unsolved murders References Notes 1949 murders in Japan 1949 in Japan Accidents and incidents involving Japanese National Railways Anti-communism in Japan August 1949 events in Asia Derailments in Japan Political repression in Japan Railway accidents in 1949 Rail transport in Fukushima Prefecture Tōhoku Main Line Train wrecks caused by sabotage Unsolved murders in Japan