Prisons in Japan
Following the verdicts in the Nicola Furlong case, many have asked for additional information on Japan's justice and prison systems. Below are articles and videos that provide an insight into both systems.
"Amnesty International has now called on Japan's new government to immediately implement reforms of the police interrogation system to avoid such miscarriages of justice.Suspects can be held for up to 23 days before they are charged in what the campaign group says is a brutal system that has no place in modern Japan.The conviction rate is more than 99%, often based on confessions. Amnesty International says some are extracted from suspects under duress.Prosecutors usually proceed with a case only if they are sure they will win and a confession has been called the king of evidence." SOURCE
"At Fuchu, he lived in a 9-by-5-foot cell furnished with a hard, narrow bed, a sink that also was his desk and a toilet that he could flush only when permitted by the guards. His mail was censored, and he was not allowed writing materials. The books he read were the few approved by his guards." SOURCE
[ad]Here is a look at Fuchu Prison in Tokyo:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0BQyS1u8uk#Kasamatsu Women's Prison in Gifu, Japan - Part 1:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-SRtiR-Vo4&feature=relatedKasamatsu Women's Prison in Gifu, Japan - Part 2:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YovSfiYQ5a0&feature=relatedKasamatsu Women's Prison in Gifu, Japan - Part 3:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVRNVva--O0&feature=relatedClick here for additional information on foreign inmates and prison life in Japan.Did you know that some Japanese prisons, like the Shimane Asahi Rehabilitation Program Center, are using RFIDs and other technology to track inmates.
AeroScout announced that the Shimane Asahi Rehabilitation Program Center, the largest Private Finance Initiative (PFI) correctional facility in Japan, has successfully installed their Prisoner and Staff Tracking solution.The system uses an integrated full-prison management security system by means of Wi-Fi RFID tags, which enable guards to monitor the locations of each inmate and compare it with their planned schedule of movements and activities for the day. With the system in place, officers are automatically alerted if any irregularities with an inmate’s location occur, such as an inmate being in the wrong area of the prison or moving too close to a forbidden zone.With the system in place, prisoners are able to move from one place to the next without escort by prison guards, reducing the amount of hostility inmates may feel, alleviating potential stress factors among inmates.The Shimane facility encompasses 325,000 square meters, with almost 100,000 square meters of floor space and 300 staff members. AeroScout’s tracking system has been in use at Shimane since October 2008 and will ultimately include 3,000 AeroScout Wi-Fi Tags when at full capacity next year." SOURCE
Click here for an excellent series on Prisons (and everything leading up to confinement) in JapanClick here for additional information provided by the American Embassy - Tokyo on Japan's prison system.[ad]
