Japan's Justice Ministry is making arrangements to start discussion on legislative revisions of the country's retrial system. Critics have said the current system results in lengthy hearings and prevents those wrongly convicted from being cleared of their charges.

In the retrial system, unlike regular criminal trials, there are no specific rules governing court procedures. The ministry's panel of experts have been debating how the system should change.

Calls for an overhaul of the system have grown since Hakamada Iwao was acquitted in a retrial over a 1966 murder case, more than four decades after he first sought a retrial.

The ministry determined that the issue needs to be addressed steadily and it wants to consult another panel commissioned by the minister to examine a possible revision as early as next spring. The ministry plans to have the panel work out the details based on the previous discussions by experts.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations is calling for specific rules to govern the disclosure of evidence. It also urges a ban on prosecutors appealing a court's decision to grant a retrial.

In October, a high court ordered a retrial for Maekawa Shoshi, who was convicted of killing a junior high school girl in Fukui City 38 years ago. Maekawa said in an interview that it is groundbreaking and long-awaited news that the government plans to review the retrial system. He said it is a beacon of hope for people like himself who have been suffering from being wrongly convicted.