In an effort to promote rehabilitation, juvenile reformatories in Japan are trying to get more young offenders to engage in their communities while acquiring technical skills that might lead to future employment.
Given the danger of released youths committing further offenses after failing to find work or a path forward in life, experts say it is vital they meet people they respect and witness examples of success.
Manabu Nakajima, now retired, brought in a nonprofit group comprising former young offenders to help inmates at a correctional facility he headed in Fukuoka city, southwestern Japan.