A district court in central Japan will rule on Thursday in the closely watched retrial of an 88-year-old man who was convicted of killing a family of four in 1966.

The Shizuoka District Court is expected to find Hakamada Iwao not guilty -- clearing his name more than 40 years after a court finalized his death sentence.

It's the first time in 35 years that a court in Japan will rule in the retrial of a case involving a finalized death sentence.

Hakamada is accused of killing his employer at the miso soybean paste factory where he worked, as well as the man's wife and two children. The victims were found stabbed to death in their house, which had burned down.

The main point of contention in the retrial was the color of bloodstains on five pieces of clothing found in a miso tank 14 months after the incident.

Prosecutors claimed that the clothes belonged to Hakamada. The items served as crucial evidence that led to his conviction.

During the retrial, defense lawyers accused the prosecutors of planting the clothes in the tank to incriminate Hakamada.

They said experts who conducted forensic analysis found the clothes would not retain a red hue after being buried under miso paste for more than one year.

Prosecutors countered that it was not impossible for the items to maintain the reddish color. They have asked the court to reinstate the death penalty.

The Tokyo High Court ordered the retrial last year. In that ruling, the court found that Hakamada's defense lawyers had produced clear evidence that should result in an acquittal. The weight of that ruling means the Shizuoka District Court is likely to find Hakamada not guilty.

This is the fifth time in postwar Japan for a court to rule in a retrial of a defendant whose death sentence has been finalized. The other four cases all resulted in acquittals.