Foreigners make up one-fourth of Fuchu Prison's population

TOKYO — At the end of 2024, foreigners incarcerated at 20 penal institutions in Japan numbered 1,460 males and 211 females, marking an increase of 5.2% over the previous year. 

By far the largest of these institutions is Fuchu Prison, located in western Tokyo. In 1993, the prison capacity was expanded with construction of a new three-story building with space for some 200 foreign prisoners. All its cells accommodate single occupants. Since they are provided with beds instead of futon, they are slightly more spacious than cells with tatami flooring. 

Internationalization of Japan's prison population proceeds apace. At the time the reporter visited Fuchu Prison last February, it was said that its foreign inmates included citizens of 60 countries and one region, who were speakers of 52 different languages. From 2017 to 2024, the number of foreign residents rose from 335 to 383. More recently the number of foreigners has risen to 429, making Fuchu's non-Japanese population roughly one in four out of the total of 1,762.

In terms of nationality, Chinese topped the list every one of those eight years until 2024, when they dropped to 2nd place as Vietnamese took over the top spot. Mexico, ranked 2nd place from 2017 to 2021, has since dropped to 3rd place. 

Shukan Shincho (May 7-14) described a typical day in stir. A 6:45 a.m. the inmates arise and fold their bedding. Then comes morning roll call. From 7 a.m. they eat breakfast at the suijo (mess hall) and then head for their respective workplaces. 

Compared with the writer's previous visit 10 years ago, he observed that the ages of prisoners have increased, with fewer suitable for work at the mess hall and laundry. Both guards and prisoners have expressed concern over this trend. 

Out of 36 prisoners assigned to mess hall duty, seven were foreigners; of 37 prisoners in the laundry, seven were foreigners. It's generally acknowledged that with the ongoing aging of Japanese prisoners, the respective operations could not function without these foreigners. 

The average age of foreign prisoners, 41.3 years, is more than 10 years younger than the Japanese average of 52.5 years. 

Over 60% of the foreign prisoners at Fuchu are said to be serving sentences for stimulants and other drug-related offenses. 

Mr B, a Serbian national in his 40s, is serving an 8-year sentence for violation of the stimulants control law. Now in his third year, he works in the prison's printing shop, where 26 of the 49 workers are non-Japanese. 

B had flown to Japan via Germany. As he was intercepted with drugs upon arrival at the airport, all he ever got to see of Japan was the inside of a prison. 

B said he has two small daughters, but has not heard from his family at all since two months after his arrest. "For all I know, they think I'm dead," he fretted. 

"What I desire most is to make a pilgrimage to Mecca," he said. The interview took place during the month or Ramadan, during which he was fasting from sunup to sundown. To accommodate his religious practice, B is served three portions for his dinner meal. That evening, they consisted of macaroni in kinako soybean powder, a stew made with ground beef, and bread rolls from the prison bakery. Needless to say pork was not served. Even with the three portions, the meal only comes to 2,350 kilocalories. 

"Japanese vinegar has a different sourness from Serbia, and I can't manage it," he complained. 

One reason many foreigners are incarcerated at Fuchu is that it is proximate to central Tokyo, where officials specializing in international matters and foreign-language interpreters are available. 

Some 30 of the foreign inmates are serving life sentences. The reporter was able to interview one in the mess hall during lunch. Described as a man in his 30s wearing eyeglasses with stylish white frames, Mr C was accompanied by a guard. He had already served six and a half years of a life sentence for murder and rape resulting in death. His mother is Japanese; he had previously been employed at a factory on a three-year work visa. 

He'd been drinking at a friend's house when he and his companions decided to "go and find some girls." This led to his assaulting and killing a young woman. 

"Why did you kill her?" the reporter asked. 

"I don't have any recollection," came the reply. "I'd been drinking but don't think I wanted to do something bad. I don't know what I was thinking." 

The man, known to be a good worker at his previous job, blamed the crime on his keeping bad company. "I had no intention to do anything like that," he said. "At the time it happened, I even had a girlfriend." 

In Japan, paroles for those serving life sentences are rarely granted. Last year, only one such convict was granted a conditional release. 

C told the reporter he is resigned to dying behind bars. 

"There were times when I thought I'd be better off executed than serving a life sentence," he lamented. "That would be better for my mother too." But he told the reporter that his mother had given him a bible and after he began reading it he felt mollified.

Upon completion of their sentences, virtually 100% of the foreign inmates are deported. 

"Sometimes, foreigners ignore or shout at the guards, and communicating with them can be difficult," a prison supervisor tells the magazine. "For me it's a daily struggle over how to motivate them toward rehabilitation. 

"Sometimes I ask myself why the government is using funds to rehabilitate foreigners who will ultimately be deported."

© Japan Today