Penal system of Japan

Procedure

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.

Vocational and formal education are emphasized, as is instruction in social values. Most convicts engage in labor, for which a small stipend is set aside for use on release. Under a system stressing incentives, prisoners are initially assigned to community cells, then earn better quarters and additional privileges based on their good behavior.

Administration

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 prostitutes). 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.

Prison population

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 percent 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 or 48 prisoners per 100,000. By of the end of 2009, the prison population had yet again risen to 75,250, or 59 prisoners per 100,000. 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.

Juvenile offenders

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.

Aftercare treatment

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.

Use of volunteers

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.

Claims of inmate rights abuses

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.

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."

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, 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." 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.

Penal institutions

Japanese "penal institutions" include prisons for sentenced adults, juvenile detention centers for sentenced juveniles, and detention houses for pre-trial inmates.

Sapporo Correctional Precinct

Sapporo Prison 札幌刑務所 - Higashi-ku, Sapporo

Sapporo Prison Sapporo Branch 札幌刑務所札幌刑務支所 - Higashi-ku, Sapporo

Asahikawa Prison 旭川刑務所 - Asahikawa, Hokkaidō

Obihiro Prison 帯広刑務所 - Obihiro, Hokkaidō

Obihiro Prison Kushiro Branch 帯広刑務所釧路刑務支所 - Kushiro, Hokkaidō

Abashiri Prison 網走刑務所 - Abashiri, Hokkaidō (with Abashiri Prison museum)

Tsukigata Prison 月形刑務所 - Tsukigata, Hokkaidō

Hakodate Juvenile Prison 函館少年刑務所 - Hakodate, Hokkaidō

Sendai Correctional Precinct

Aomori Prison 青森刑務所 - Aomori, Aomori

Miyagi Prison 宮城刑務所 - Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai

Akita Prison 秋田刑務所 - Akita City

Yamagata Prison 山形刑務所 - Yamagata, Yamagata

Fukushima Prison 福島刑務所 - Fukushima, Fukushima

Fukushima Prison Fukushima Branch 福島刑務所福島刑務支所 - Morioka, Iwate

Morioka Juvenile Prison 盛岡少年刑務所 - Morioka, Iwate

Tokyo Correctional Precinct

Mito Prison 水戸刑務所 - Hitachinaka, Ibaraki

Tochigi Prison 栃木刑務所 - Tochigi, Tochigi

Kurobane Prison 黒羽刑務所 - Ōtawara, Tochigi

Maebashi Prison 前橋刑務所 - Maebashi, Gunma

Chiba Prison 千葉刑務所 - Wakaba-ku, Chiba

Ichihara Prison 市原刑務所 - Ichihara, Chiba

Fuchu Prison 府中刑務所 - Fuchū, Tokyo

Yokohama Prison 横浜刑務所 - Kōnan-ku, Yokohama

Yokohama Prison Yokosuka Branch 横浜刑務所横須賀刑務支所 - Yokosuka, Kanagawa

Niigata Prison 新潟刑務所 - Kōnan-ku, Niigata

Kofu Prison 甲府刑務所 - Kōfu, Yamanashi

Nagano Prison 長野刑務所 - Suzaka, Nagano

Shizuoka Prison 静岡刑務所 - Aoi-ku, Shizuoka

Kawagoe Juvenile Prison 川越少年刑務所 - Kawagoe, Saitama

Matsumoto Juvenile Prison 松本少年刑務所 - Matsumoto, Nagano

Nagoya Correctional Precinct

Toyama Prison 富山刑務所 - Toyama City

Kanazawa Prison 金沢刑務所 - Kanazawa, Ishikawa

Fukui Prison 福井刑務所 - Fukui, Fukui

Gifu Prison 岐阜刑務所 - Gifu, Gifu

Kasamatsu Prison 笠松刑務所 - Kasamatsu, Gifu

Nagoya Prison 名古屋刑務所 - Miyoshi, Aichi

Nagoya Prison Toyohashi Branch 名古屋刑務所豊橋刑務支所 - Toyohashi, Aichi

Mie Prison 三重刑務所 - Tsu, Mie

Osaka Correctional Precinct

Shiga Prison 滋賀刑務所 - Ōtsu, Shiga

Kyoto Prison 京都刑務所 - Yamashina-ku, Kyoto

Osaka Prison 大阪刑務所 - Sakai-ku, Sakai

Kobe Prison 神戸刑務所 - Akashi, Hyōgo

Kakogawa Prison 加古川刑務所 - Kakogawa, Hyōgo

Wakayama Prison 和歌山刑務所 - Wakayama, Wakayama

Himeji Prison 姫路少年刑務所 - Himeji, Hyōgo

Nara Juvenile Prison 奈良少年刑務所 - Nara, Nara

Hiroshima Correctional Precinct

Tottori Prison 鳥取刑務所 - Tottori, Tottori

Matsue Prison 松江刑務所 - Matsue, Shimane

Okayama Prison 岡山刑務所 - Kita-ku, Okayama

Hiroshima Prison 広島刑務所 - Naka-ku, Hiroshima

Hiroshima Prison Onomichi Branch 広島刑務所尾道刑務支所 - Onomichi, Hiroshima

Yamaguchi Prison 山口刑務所 - Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi

Iwakuni Prison 岩国刑務所 - Iwakuni, Yamaguchi

Takamatsu Correctional Precinct

Tokushima Prison 徳島刑務所 - Tokushima, Tokushima

Takamatsu Prison 高松刑務所 - Takamatsu, Kagawa

Matsuyama Prison 松山刑務所 - Tōon, Ehime

Matsuyama Prison Saijo Branch 松山刑務所西条刑務支所 - Saijō, Ehime

Kochi Prison 高知刑務所 - Kōchi, Kōchi

Fukuoka Correctional Precinct

Fukuoka Prison 福岡刑務所 - Umi, Fukuoka

Fumoto Prison 麓刑務所 - Tosu, Saga

Sasebo Prison 佐世保刑務所 - Sasebo, Nagasaki

Nagasaki Prison 長崎刑務所 - Isahaya, Nagasaki

Kumamoto Prison 熊本刑務所 - Kumamoto, Kumamoto

Oita Prison 大分刑務所 - Ōita, Ōita

Miyazaki Prison 宮崎刑務所 - Miyazaki, Miyazaki

Kagoshima Prison 鹿児島刑務所 - Yūsui, Kagoshima

Okinawa Prison 沖縄刑務所 - Nanjō, Okinawa

Okinawa Prison Yaeyama Branch 沖縄刑務所八重山刑務支所 - Ishigaki, Okinawa

Saga Juvenile Prison 佐賀少年刑務所 - Saga, Saga

Detention houses

Tokyo Detention House

Tachikawa Detention House

Nagoya Detention House

Kyoto Detention House

Osaka Detention House

Kobe Detention House

Hiroshima Detention House

Fukuoka Detention House

Medical facilities

Hachiojo medical prison 八王子医療刑務所 - Hachiōji, Tokyo

Kitakyushu medical prison 北九州医療刑務所 - Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyūshū (mental illness)

An inmate died in 1992 at Jono after an assault by a prison officer.

Kikuchi medical branch prison (leprosy)

Okazaki medical prison 岡崎医療刑務所 - Okazaki, Aichi (mental illness)

Osaka medical branch prison 大阪医療刑務所 - Sakai-ku, Sakai

Private Finance Initiative

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) prisons are maintained with private management. PFI prisons, which are for sentenced inmates with low criminal tendencies, include:

Harima Rehabilitation Program Center (播磨社会復帰促進センター) - Kakogawa, Hyogo - Houses men

Kitsuregawa Rehabilitation Program Center (喜連川社会復帰促進センター) - Sakura, Tochigi - Houses men

Mine Rehabilitation Program Center (美祢社会復帰促進センター) - Mine, Yamaguchi - Houses men and women

Shimane Asahi Rehabilitation Program Center (島根あさひ社会復帰促進センター) - Hamada, Shimane - Houses men

Logo

The logo of the Correction Bureau includes three "C"s. One stands for Challenge, one for Change, and one for Cooperate.