NCJ Number
125202
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1990) Pages: 128-131
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Japanese prisons can experience unusual difficulties in managing troublesome inmates.
Abstract
In a population of 2,100 inmates at Fuchu Prison in Tokyo, 132 inmates were identified as difficult and were named to the following categories: violence-prone, homosexual, suicidal, litigious, mentally ill, politically extreme, gang-involved, and escape-prone. Of those, violence-prone individuals were the most numerous, totalling 25 of the 132 inmates. However, Fuchu's assault rate was lower than the national average. Homosexuality was cited as causing serious custodial difficulties; suicide attempts proved fatal in only eight instances. Seventeen men persistently engaged in lawsuits or other grievances. Of the 109 men considered mentally disturbed, 16 were named problematic because of aggressive conduct. From 1967 to 1980, members of the right-wing extremist group, the Red Army, caused serious difficulties at Fuchu. Members of the Borkyokudan, organized criminal gangs, have assumed increasing shares of Japan's prisoner population. Three men were deemed prominent escape risks in Fuchu, but escape attempts are rare. Japanese policy is that each prison must manage its own difficult cases.