A light-brown complex in a residential area in western Tokyo’s suburban city of Fuchu could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
But a closer look at the stone inscription at its entrance reveals the identity of this facility: Fuchu Prison, Japan's largest, all-male penitentiary.
It also houses the biggest population of foreign prisoners in the country, and as such it is taking measures to accommodate them in terms of language, culture, food and lifestyle.
“We don't really give them special treatment just because they are foreign nationals,” said Atsushi Takada, an official at the prison. “But since the environment and culture in which they were brought up is too different from that of Japan's, we need to treat them differently.”
In a recent media tour, reporters were given a rare peek inside the prison, home to some 1,200 inmates.
As of December last year, Fuchu Prison housed 353 foreign prisoners representing 58 nationalities and speaking 52 languages. Chinese nationals make up the largest population at 20.1%, followed by Vietnamese prisoners, at 17.8%.
Notable foreign inmates in the past reportedly include Michael Taylor, the former Green Beret who helped auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan, and Richard Hinds, who was convicted of strangling to death an Irish exchange student in Tokyo in 2012.
Most of the foreign inmates have been convicted of crimes related to drugs (57.8%), followed by robbery (12.7%) and theft (less than 10%). Meanwhile, the top crime committed by Japanese inmates is theft, followed by drug-related crime and fraud.
In 1995, Fuchu Prison set up an international division — the first in Japan — to support the lives of foreign inmates. It is tasked with matters that range from interpretation to investigating the problematic treatment of foreign inmates behind bars.
Different options
In terms of food, foreign prisoners are given the option of halal or vegetarian meals, or even replacing cooked rice with bread.
While Japanese inmates have a shared cell depending on their offenses, foreign inmates often have a room of their own to avoid possible clashes due to cultural differences. They also have the option of a room with a bed instead of one with a futon mattress, the former of which is typically larger.
In the past, Japanese prisoners who had returned from abroad joked that they ought to be provided with a room like foreign prisoners since they were returnees, a prison official shared, chuckling.
Fuchu Prison also supports the religious needs of inmates by holding prayer sessions from time to time.
“Christians have dedicated rooms where they gather, and church priests or pastors come to offer prayers,” Takada cited as an example. The frequency of such prayer sessions — typically once every month on days when priests are available — often depends on the wishes of the inmates, he added.
Prisoners at Fuchu Prison are also given access to newspapers such as the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun for Japanese readers, The Japan News for English readers and People’s Daily for Chinese readers.
Another perk accorded to foreign inmates is the option to call their family and friends abroad, since they don't get to see them face to face, unlike Japanese inmates.
Clean and spacious
When reporters were led through the door that leads to the area where prisoners are held, what immediately stood out was how clean and spacious the place was.
Despite occasional shouts from guards reporting to their superiors echoing through the hallways, the atmosphere was largely quiet as inmates diligently worked on assigned tasks in silence.
A metal fence at the top of a staircase — intended to prevent suicides — and security guards standing at every corner are a reminder that the building is indeed a prison.
On weekdays, inmates get up at 6:45 a.m., have breakfast and report to various workshops to work from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m., except for a lunch break. There, they do anything from repairing cars to producing wooden furniture and printing postcards. At 9 p.m., it's lights out.
During the media tour, several prisoners who were ill or going through drug withdrawal symptoms were left confined in their cells, which would otherwise be vacant during the day, their eyes boring into reporters passing by.
Takada, the penitentiary official, said that prisoners who have been imprisoned in other countries comment that they feel safer here.
“Many of them say that this is the first time they are able to spend their prison life without feeling their life is threatened,” he said. Still, some complained that the rules are overly strict.
Declining numbers
Despite the steady rise in Japan's foreign population, the number of foreign prisoners — categorized as “F” to distinguish them from Japanese inmates — has been declining for more than a decade, according to Justice Ministry data.
As of December 2022, there were 1,401 foreign prisoners, comprising 4.1% of the prisoners total. In the whole of 2022, prisons received 400 new foreign convicts, considerably lower than the peak of 1,350 in 2006.
One factor contributing to the decline is Japan's 2003 ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, which allows foreign prisoners to serve two-thirds of their time in their home countries.
Japan also has similar bilateral treaties with Thailand, Brazil, Iran and Vietnam.
“There are those who want to go home because it is good for their mental health to be able to speak their native language,” said Takada.
“Inmates do not have to (serve prison terms in their home countries) if they don’t want to,” he said, adding that the decision often depended on the condition of prisons back home.
Choosing to remain in Japan means foreign prisoners will face certain challenges such as the language barrier and the possibility of their visa expiring during their time in prison.
Inmates subject to deportation are sent back to their home countries after serving their sentences, except for cases such as for those with a Japanese spouse who may be allowed to remain.
Having an expired visa prevents a foreign inmate from signing up for certain programs offered in prison. A female foreign prisoner in Wakayama Prefecture wrote to the Center for Prisoners’ Rights Japan to highlight this predicament.
She wants to sign up for vocational training but is unable to do so because she does not have a valid visa.
“I am unable to even apply even if I wanted to,” she said in her message to the center. “I am strongly interested in participating in this job training program as it will be beneficial to me after my release from prison.”
Fuchu Prison, which offers vocational training and job support for Japanese prisoners before they are released, finds it challenging to support foreign inmates in a similar fashion, according to Takada.
“Unfortunately, foreign nationals have to return to their own countries due to immigration procedures,” he said. “So while we can support them working in Japan, it's quite challenging to do so in the current situation.”
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