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“I am innocent,” stated Mr. Kazuo Ishikawa in closing his speech at the meeting between the Human Rights Committee (HRC) and NGO representatives on October 15, 2008 in Geneva.

The HRC organized the meeting on the occasion of its consideration and conclusion of the 5th Periodic Report of Japan on the implementation of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Japan is a state party.

In his speech, Mr. Ishikawa called for the disclosure of evidence in his trial, which is known as the “Sayama Case.” Mr. Ishikawa began his speech in English, saying, "My name is Kazuo Ishikawa," and gave the rest of his speech in Japanese. “I, Kazuo Ishikawa, was wrongly imprisoned for 32 years due to prejudice and bias against Buraku, which led to the accusation that I perpetrated the 1963 Sayama Case. Today, 45 years after the case began, I continue to assert my innocence.”

He continued, “The prosecutor has still failed to disclose even a single page of evidence, which could be stacked two or three meters high. I am now 69 years old. I have continued to claim my innocence from the time I was wrongfully convicted, and have struggled to exonerate myself. I came to Geneva to personally petition the assistance of the Human Rights Committee in requesting the government disclose all evidence in my court case.” He concluded his speech stating, “I am innocent.”