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The penal system of Japan (including prisons) is part of the criminal justice system of Japan. It is intended to resocialize, reform, rehabilitate and punish offenders. The penal system is operated by the Correction Bureau of the Ministry of Justice.
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On confinement, prisoners are first classified according to gender, nationality, type of penalty, length of sentence, degree of criminality, and state of physical and mental health. They are then placed in special programs designed to treat their individual needs.
Prison education in Japan can be traced back to at least 1871, when practical ethics lectures were introduced into a prison in Tokyo. [1] Reading and writing classes began being implemented into the prison system on a larger scale by 1881. By the late 1880s, it was believed that ethics classes were the most important form of education for prisoners, and by the 1890s, education was considered one of the most important issues of the prison system. Conferences, mostly attended by prison staff, were held in 1889 and 1892 to discuss ways to improve education within the prison system. There was no unanimous agreement on the best way to implement moral education for prisoners, and different institutions began running their own individual programs. [2] In 1910, prison law in Japan ordered education be given to all juvenile inmates, and to any adult inmate deemed to have a need. Regulations stipulated two to four hours per day be set aside for education. [3] In 1952, correspondence courses were introduced into all prisons, and in 1955, a high school was established at Matsumoto juvenile prison for juvenile inmates who had not completed their compulsory education. [4] As of 2018, male prisoners nationwide can still be transferred on request to the school. There were six graduates in 2002, and three in 2018. [5] [6]
The Correctional Bureau of the Ministry of Justice administers the adult prison system as well as the juvenile correctional system and three women's guidance homes (to rehabilitate sex workers). The ministry's Rehabilitation Bureau operates the probation and parole systems. Prison personnel are trained at an institute in Tokyo and in branch training institutes in each of the eight regional correctional headquarters under the Correctional Bureau. Professional probation officers study at the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Ministry. The prison guards in Japan do not carry firearms but can activate an alarm where specialized armed guards will come. There can be as low as one prison guard supervising 40 inmates while they are working.
In 1990, Japan's prison population stood at somewhat less than 47,000; nearly 7,000 were in short-term detention centers, and the remaining 40,000 were in prisons. Approximately 46% were repeat offenders. Japanese recidivism was attributed mainly to the discretionary powers of police, prosecutors, and courts and to the tendency to seek alternative sentences for first offenders. By 2001, the overall prison population rose to 61,242 [7] or 48 prisoners per 100,000. By the end of 2009, the prison population had yet again risen to 75,250, or 59 prisoners per 100,000. [8] One reason for the rise is a large increase in the number of elderly being convicted of crimes, with loneliness being cited as a major factor. [9] [10]
Although a few juvenile offenders are handled under the general penal system, most are treated in separate juvenile training schools. More lenient than the penal institutions, these facilities provide correctional education and regular schooling for delinquents under the age of twenty. More adults are in prison than child delinquents, mainly because of the low crime rate.
In Japan, juvenile prisoners are defined as people less than 20 years of age. All juvenile cases are first sent to a family court, where the judge may decide that the juvenile be tried by the ordinary court (as an adult). Juveniles not tried by an ordinary court are detained in juvenile training schools (typical juvenile correctional institutions); these prisoners represented 2,872 at the end of 2014. The 52 Juvenile institutions are under the responsibility of the prison administration. Minors under 18 years of age cannot be sentenced to the death penalty. Juvenile prisoners make up 4.5% of the prison population. [11]
According to the Ministry of Justice, the government's responsibility for social order does not end with imprisoning an offender, but also extends to aftercare treatment and to noninstitutional treatment to substitute for or supplement prison terms.
A large number of those given suspended sentences are released to the supervision of volunteer officers under the guidance of professional probation officers. Adults are usually placed on probation for a fixed period, and juveniles are placed on probation until they reach the age of twenty.
The number of crimes committed by foreigners significantly decreased in recent years from 43,622 in 2005 to 15,276 in 2016. Most common offenses committed by foreigners were theft (60% of their Penal Code offenses), immigration violations (66% of non-Penal code offenses), and drug offenses in 2016.
The number of convicted foreign prisoners was 3,509 in 2016. Yet, most of them were given suspended sentences and only 744 were imprisoned in the same year. The largest group was thieves (122 people) and the second largest was drug offenders (96 people).
Volunteers are also used in supervising parolees, although professional probation officers generally supervise offenders considered to have a high risk of recidivism. Volunteers hail from all walks of life and handle no more than five cases at one time. They are responsible for overseeing the offenders' conduct to prevent the occurrence of further offenses. Volunteer probation officers also offer guidance and assistance to the ex-convict in assuming a law-abiding place in the community.
Although volunteers are sometimes criticized for being too old compared with their charges (more than 70 percent are retired and are age fifty-five or over) and thus unable to understand the problems their charges faced, most authorities believe that the volunteers are critically important in the nation's criminal justice system.
Assigned labour is considered a priority in Japan's correctional system. By law, if a prisoner refuses work or neglects their labour responsibility, punishment is to be implemented. Work hours consist of eight hours each day over the Monday-Friday period and four hours on Saturdays – although individual cases may extend or limit these procedures. In most prisons, inmates who perform paid work are paid for their activity. [12] The money earned by inmates through prison labour in Japan is not "owned" by the inmate until they are released from incarceration. Instead, income is placed into a specialised bank account with only a small amount being available for prisoner use to purchase essential items from the prison store. Permission may also be granted for inmates to use this saved amount toward fines, lawsuit fees and alimony. [13]
Depending on an inmate's classification, occupational training is also a feature of Japan's correctional system. Intended to prepare prisoners for their release into society, prison institutions may offer training in dry cleaning, automobile repairs, photo typography, carpentry and leatherwork. These opportunities are based on prisoner requests and may or may not be accepted by prison authorities. [12] Prisoners in Japan are also able to undertake factory work (e.g., assembling machinery, fabricating parts) for external manufacturers through contracted arrangements. As opposed to outsourcing labour to China-based factories, manufacturers subcontract their factory work to prisons to save shipping and production costs. [14]
Former US Marine Rodrico Harp, who was sentenced to seven years hard labor for his part in the infamous 1995 Okinawa rape incident, served his sentence at Kurihama prison near Yokosuka, and described fabricating car parts for Mazda and Nissan for a salary of less than $30 a month during his incarceration in an interview with Stars and Stripes after his release.
International criminal defense lawyer Michael Griffith is a well known critic of the practice, saying: "They don't have to recruit these workers. They don't have to insure them, or give them sick pay, or fulfil any of the obligations that they would in a regular factory. They know that their workers can never complain, or join a trade union, or get headaches, or take time off. Why should these companies get the benefit of convict labour? It is sheer, naked exploitation, and it is a disgrace in any country that calls itself a civilised democracy." [15]
In June 1994, Griffith made submissions to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives along with his client Christopher Lavinger, who previously served 16 months in Fuchū Prison for drug possession. Lavinger described to the Committee his experiences of making an array of commercial products in the prison factory, including electronic components for SEGA, for a salary of less than twenty cents an hour. [16] Thomas Klitgaard, senior vice president and general counsel of SEGA USA, later stated that one of 300 subcontractors retained by SEGA Japan had used prison labor to assemble nine pin connector plugs for some SEGA games, but that the practice had subsequently been detected and stopped. [17]
Amnesty International has cited Japan for abuse of inmates by guards for infractions of prison rules. This abuse is in the form of beatings, solitary confinement, overcrowding, or "minor solitary confinement" (keiheikin), which forces inmates to be interned in tiny cells kneeling or crossed legged, and restrained with handcuffs for prolonged periods of time. [18]
In 2003, Justice Ministry formed a special team to investigate 1,566 prisoner deaths from 1993 to 2002. A preliminary report suggested that nearly one-third of the cases involved suspicious circumstances. However, in June, the Ministry announced that there was evidence of abuse only in the two Nagoya fatalities. Regarding the other suspicious deaths, the Ministry said that approximately 10 deaths could be attributed to poor medical care. The authorities reported they had lost the documentation on nine deaths in Tokyo's Fuchu Prison. The remaining deaths were determined to be "not suspicious." [19]
In the wake of prison abuses, the "Law Concerning Penal Institutions and the Treatment of Sentenced Inmates" came into effect on June 7, 2007, to reform treatment on prisoners, [20] [21] [22] such as "the expansion of prisoners' contacts with the outside world, the establishment of independent committees to inspect prisons, and the improvement of the complaints mechanisms." [23] However, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) expressed concerns in 2010 about revalidating unlimited solitary confinements (along with newer types of handcuffs for such inmates), not providing medical care for inmates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, and mental and physical effects of confinement for death row inmates. [23]
In the article " 'Prison Libraries' in Japan: The Current Situation of Access to Books and Reading in Correctional Institutions" Kenichi Nakane talks about another form of prisoner neglect/abuse. Nakane's article finds that there is a severe lack of reading materials available to people who are incarcerated in Japanese correctional facilities. The author Kenichi Nakane uses the term "Prison Library" because there are no professionally run libraries inside of any of the correctional facilities. Nakane finds that incarcerated persons can only get books, newspapers, and magazines by buying them and/or getting them as gifts. Nakane found that occasionally a limited number of reading materials are supplied, but they are out dated and inadequate. Nakane also finds the lack of reading material and availability of information in these incarceration facilities to be hindering some of the rights of the incarcerated individuals. To further investigate this problem, Kenichi Nakane traveled to twenty-six prisons in America and seven prisons in the United Kingdom and found that the availability of books, and information to incarcerated individuals in Japan was very limited compared to US and UK prisons. [24]
Japanese "penal institutions" include prisons for sentenced adults, juvenile detention centers for sentenced juveniles, and detention houses for pre-trial inmates. [25]
In Japan, there are 62 prisons, 7 juvenile prisons, 52 juvenile classification homes, 52 juvenile training schools, 10 Detention Houses, 8 regional parole boards, and 50 probation offices.
Different types of prisoners are sent to different prisons. For example, the Fuchu Prison (Tokyo) and Yokohama Prison (Kanagawa) receive inmates that have advanced criminal inclination with sentences shorter than 10 years – e.g., prisoners affiliated with crime organizations. The Chiba Prison received inmates without advanced criminal inclination and who do not have sentences longer than 10 years – e.g., murder without the possibility of repeating a crime again. Ichihara Prison (Chiba) is specialized for traffic offenders – e.g., repetitive offenders and those who killed others while driving.
Private Finance Initiative (PFI) prisons are maintained with private management. PFI prisons, which are for sentenced inmates with low criminal tendencies, include: [31]
The inmates population tends to be large: 2,000 at Kizuregawa and Shimane Asahi; 1,000 at Harima and 500 at Miya. Under the PFI, prison facilities were built by the state but the operation and maintenance are made by private companies. Inmates at the private prisons are without advanced criminal inclinations.
The logo of the Correction Bureau includes three "C"s. One stands for Challenge, one for Change, and one for Cooperate. [32]
In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and supervision of persons who have been convicted of crimes. These functions commonly include imprisonment, parole, and probation. A typical correctional institution is a prison. A correctional system, also known as a penal system, thus refers to a network of agencies that administer a jurisdiction's prisons, and community-based programs like parole, and probation boards. This system is part of the larger criminal justice system, which additionally includes police, prosecution and courts. Jurisdictions throughout Canada and the US have ministries or departments, respectively, of corrections, correctional services, or similarly-named agencies.
A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law, inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sentenced to longer terms of imprisonment (Canada). Not all federated countries have a legal concept of "federal prison".
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Justice that operates U.S. federal prisons and is responsible for the care, custody, and control of federal prisoners.
A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probation and parole officers are employed by the government of the jurisdiction in which they operate, although some are employed by private companies that provide contracted services to the government.
Prisons in Hong Kong are correctional facilities in Hong Kong, which are managed by the Correctional Services Department. Facilities have different purposes. Hong Kong has one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the region.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacramento.
The penal system in China is composed of an administrative detention system and a judicial incarceration system. As of 2020, it is estimated that 1.7 million people had been incarcerated in China, which is the second-highest prison population after the United States. The country's per-capita incarceration rate is 121 per 100,000. China also retains the use of the death penalty with the approval of the Supreme People's Court, and there is a system of death penalty with reprieve in which the sentence is suspended unless the convict commits another major crime within two years while they are detained.
The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS&C) is a state law enforcement agency responsible for the incarceration of inmates and management of facilities at state prisons within the state of Louisiana. The agency is headquartered in Baton Rouge. The agency comprises two major areas: Public Safety Services and Corrections Services. The secretary, who is appointed by the governor of Louisiana, serves as the department's chief executive officer. The Corrections Services deputy secretary, undersecretary, and assistant secretaries for the Office of Adult Services and the Office of Youth Development report directly to the secretary. Headquarters administration consists of centralized divisions that support the management and operations of the adult and juvenile institutions, adult and juvenile probation and parole district offices, and all other services provided by the department.
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are confined against their will and denied a variety of freedoms under the authority of the state, generally as punishment for various crimes. Authorities most commonly use prisons within a criminal-justice system: people charged with crimes may be imprisoned until their trial; those who have pled or been found guilty of crimes at trial may be sentenced to a specified period of imprisonment.
The Tokyo Detention House is a correctional facility in Katsushika, Tokyo. The prison, which is operated by the Ministry of Justice, is one of seven detention centres that carry out executions in Japan. It is used to detain people awaiting trial, convicted felons and those sentenced to death. In April 2019, the Special Security Response Team, a tactical response unit, was established at the TDH.
Prisons in Ireland are one of the main forms of punishment, rehabilitation, or both for the commission of an indictable offense and other offenses.
The Federal Penitentiary Service is a federal agency of the Ministry of Justice of Russia responsible for correctional services.
Fuchū Prison is a prison in Japan. It is located in the city of the Fuchū, Tokyo to the west of the center of Tokyo Metropolis. Before the end of World War II, Fuchū prison held Communist leaders, members of banned religious sects, and leaders of the Korean independence movement.
Nagoya Detention House is a correctional facility in Higashi-ku, Nagoya. A part of the penal system of Japan, it is operated by the Ministry of Justice.
Hiroshima Detention House is a correctional facility in Naka-ku, Hiroshima. A part of the penal system of Japan, it is operated by the Ministry of Justice.
Norway's criminal justice system focuses on the principles of restorative justice and the rehabilitation of prisoners. Correctional facilities in Norway focus on maintaining custody of the offender and attempting to make them functioning members of society. Norway's prison system is renowned as one of the most effective and humane in the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted prisons globally. There have been outbreaks of COVID-19 reported in prisons and jails around the world, with the housing density and population turnover of many prisons contributing to an increased risk of contracting the virus compared to the general population. Prison crowding and lack of sanitation measures contribute to the risk of contracting diseases in prisons and jails. As a mitigation measure, several jurisdictions have released prisoners to reduce density and attempt to reduce the spread of the illness. There have also been protests among prisoners, riots and prison breaks in multiple countries in response to prisoner anger over their risk of contracting illness in prison conditions. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, health services within prisons had issues providing adequate care for incarcerated people, and this has only been exacerbated by the impacts of COVID-19. Minority groups within the prison system have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Special Security Response Team is an emergency service unit placed under the Japanese Ministry of Justice's Correction Bureau. It is based at the Tokyo Detention House.
Sendai Detention House is a correctional facility in Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai. A part of the penal system of Japan, it is operated by the Ministry of Justice.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . Country Studies. Federal Research Division. - Japan 
