The Tokyo High Court on July 14 approved the retrial of two men who spent almost three decades behind bars for the 1967 robbery-murder of a carpenter in Tone, Ibaraki Prefecture, arguing their initial confessions had been forced.

The life sentences of Shoji Sakurai and Takao Sugiyama, both 61, were finalized by the Supreme Court in 1978 for the strangling of Shoten Tamamura, 62, and robbery of some ¥100,000 in cash from the victim, whose body was found in August 1967.

The two men were paroled in 1996 after spending some 29 years behind bars since their arrest.

During their trial, the pair claimed investigators pressured them into confessing. They later petitioned for a retrial, denying guilt.

In September 2005, the Mito District Court's Tsuchiura branch accepted their petition and gave the go-ahead for the retrial.

Prosecutors appealed the district court decision to the high court, which July 13 endorsed the retrial bid.

"Truth prevailed," Sugiyama said after the ruling. "Our battle will continue."

It is uncertain if prosecutors will appeal the ruling.

Presiding Judge Hiroshi Kadono said the confessions ran counter to significant facts pertaining to the slaying, including how Tamamura was killed.

It appeared police pressured Sakurai and Sugiyama into making a false confession, he said, adding that a witness wrongly claimed to have seen the pair near the crime scene.

The case lacked material evidence and the prosecution depended solely on the confessions.