A Japanese man who spent more than 40 years on death row until he was acquitted last year has been awarded $1.4 million in compensation, a court said on Tuesday – roughly $85 for each day he was wrongfully convicted.

An 89-year-old Japanese man who spent nearly half a century on death row for a 1966 quadruple murder before being exonerated last year was awarded a record $1.44 million in compensation on Tuesday.

Nearly 50 years on death row had inflicted "extremely severe" mental and physical pain on Iwao Hakamata, a judge said.