Death and torture in Japan’s prisons

Killing and brutalising prisoners demonstrates the urgent need for accountability and reform

JAPAN'S treatment of prisoners and detainees is cruel, abusive and sometimes lethal. Although Japan is Asia's wealthiest democracy and has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, those who are suspected of breaking Japan's laws face a staggeringly draconian penal system. The recent killing of a prisoner through the application of a "leather handcuff" has brought renewed calls for action, and necessitates that the Commission on Human Rights pressure Japan to reform its prisons.

Standard Japanese prison practice involves the use of the "leather handcuff" device that human rights organisations including Amnesty International and the Center for Prisoner Rights in Japan have denounced and compared with "medieval instruments of torture." The handcuff, a leather waist belt with two attached manacles, is often affixed tightly resulting in severe abdominal injury. Prisoners are restrained in leather handcuffs for long periods and are forced to eat without their hands and to defecate through a hole cut in their pants. This practice is in violation of Rule 33 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the international standards set out in the Istanbul Protocol, ICCPR article 2, paragraph 3(a), article 7, and article 10, and the Convention Against Torture.

Publicisation of the killing of one prisoner and brutalisation of another in 2002 at the Nagoya Prison demonstrates the continued urgent need for accountability and reform. In May 2002, a 49-year old prisoner was placed in leather handcuffs as punishment for defiance. The man suffered severe abdominal injuries and died due to internal bleeding.

In September 2002, the device was tied around a 30-year old prisoner who was then beaten unconscious after he refused to retract a complaint of human rights abuse to the Nagoya Bar Association. He was hospitalised for 70 days. According to the Minister of Justice, the total number of leather handcuffs in Japan is about 1,300 as of a year ago, including 1,100 at prisons and detention centres, 50 at immigration centres and 170 at juvenile facilities. While most prisons in Japan have cut down on the use of leather handcuffs, the Nagoya prison has increased its use from 53 cases in 2001 to 148 in 2002.

The Justice Minister insists that the brutality at Nagoya is unique, stating that she has "not heard of any similar cases." But Nagoya is not an isolated event of maltreatment by individual guards; it is a problem of the prison system as a whole. Although some prison guards are currently being prosecuted for their involvement in the Nagoya torture cases, most perpetrators and mechanisms of torture remain largely unaffected.

A report commissioned by the Japanese House of Representatives Committee on Justice catalogued the death of over 1,600 inmates in Japanese prisons in the past 10 years. 260 of these deaths occurred in only four of Japan's 59 prisons - Nagoya, Fuchu, Osaka, and Yokosuka. The Justice Ministry has not thoroughly investigated these cases and has even been found to have covered up the suspicious details of a prisoner's death.

Local bar associations have issued appeals to judicial authorities for 99 cases of serious human rights abuses since 1998, but according to the Japanese Federation of Bar Associations, have received almost no response concerning improvements. Five of the cases are said to be death by use of the leather handcuffs. Japan recognised in its fourth periodic report to the Human Rights Committee in 1998 that few perpetrators have been prosecuted for torturing prisoners (only 10 in the period of the report). Considering the evidence of the pervasiveness of torture in Japan's prisons this is an informative admission of the lack of accountability.

The Human Rights Committee reviewed Japan's prison practices in 1998 and found gross human rights abuses in violation of international law. The Committee noted that there is no effective relief mechanism for victims of brutality, and called for creation of a prison supervisory agency and an independent body to investigate complaints of "unfair treatment" by police and immigration authorities. The Japanese government has not yet acted upon the proposal, although scrutiny of the leather restraints after the recent deaths has prompted Japan's Minister of Justice to ban their use by September 2003.

Other forms of torture, cruel and degrading treatment are also common. In December 2001 at Nagoya Prison, a guard fatally abused an inmate by shooting water from a high pressure fire hose into his anus. The prisoner died the following day from injuries and infection caused by the brutal treatment. (see box)

Members of the Human Rights Committee expressed their concern in 1999 "about the harsh conditions of detention … in isolation rooms." Currently, Japanese prisoners, including some pretrial detainees, all death penalty prisoners, and some prisoners serving lesser terms, are held in solitary confinement with little or no human interaction. Since 1997, death penalty prisoners have not even been allowed to talk with their guards - their only significant contact with another person. Several death penalty and life sentence prisoners have been held in solitary confinement for over 20 years, meaning that their only human contact comes from occasional visits with their family. Other prisoners are reportedly held for long periods in solitary confinement to discipline them for "retorts" made to guards such as opening their eyes before a meal.

During solitary confinement prisoners are required to maintain the painful seiza sitting position for days on end whilst they are not allowed to touch the wall or stretch their legs. The Human Rights Committee has noted that "prolonged solitary confinement of the detained or imprisoned person may amount to acts prohibited by [ICCPR] Article 7." The Commission should continue to examine the excessive use of solitary confinement and bodily restraint as clear indication of Japan's noncompliance with international human rights law.

The Human Rights Committee also has expressed its deep concern at many other "aspects of the prison system in Japan." Japanese prisons fail to meet international standards for the provision of light, fresh air, adequate heating, and access to exercise. Rule 11 of the Standard Minimum Rules requires that prisoners have access to natural light and fresh air. In response to numerous complaints of long-term solitary confinement in cells with covered windows, the Japanese government stated to the Human Rights Committee that in its prisons, "windows are large enough to permit inmates to read under natural light conditions." This is contradicted by the reporting of several human rights organisations and former prisoners. Prisoners are often placed in solitary confinement for over 23 hours a day in cells that have blinds on the windows so that they cannot see outside. For instance, rooms that are above ground level at the Tokyo Detention Centre have windows covered by blinds, only one-eighth of which were removed following complaints by the Japanese Bar Association.

Human rights organisations report that prisoners suffer from frostbite during the winter and heat stroke during the summer months. A government survey indicates over 10 percent of prisoners find the extreme cold and heat to be the hardest and most painful part of their imprisonment. In all but the most northern prisons the heat either does not work or is not turned on, sometimes resulting in frostbite.

Prisoners are only allowed to exercise two or three times per week for 30 minutes at time. The time allotted for exercise includes the time required to walk to and from their cell, often leaving less than 20 minutes for exercise. This is a violation of Rule 21 of the Standard Minimum Rules, which states "every prisoner shall have at least one hour of suitable exercise in the open air daily if weather permits."

According to the Human Rights Committee, there is "inadequate protection for prisoners who complain of reprisals by prison wardens, [and] lack of a credible system for investigating complaints by prisoners." The prisoner's procedural rights are greatly diminished after conviction. Prisoners are only allowed visits from close family and their lawyer. NGO's are not allowed to conduct direct interviews with prisoners. Communication with legal counsel is strictly controlled. Prisoners are only allowed 30 minutes per session per day maximum and in practice the time allowed is often significantly less. During prisoner meetings with counsel, a prison guard monitors the conversation at all times, even in cases in which the prisoner is bringing suit against the prison, leading to situations in which the defence closely monitors and scrutinises its plaintiff's communication with counsel. Meetings and correspondence in a foreign language are not allowed as they may escape government monitoring.

Prisoner mail is monitored and censored. Following a High Court ruling, foreign prisoners wishing to read their mail in a foreign language must first pay for its translation to Japanese so that prison censors can review it.

Japan's Prison Law, enacted in 1908 under the Meiji Constitution and adhering to mikko shugi - a policy of secretiveness - confers almost no protection of prisoners' rights. Prisoner rights seem to be almost entirely derived from Justice Ministry regulations and directives that are largely kept secret. Prisoners are not aware of the rules and their opportunity to appeal disciplinary decisions. The Japanese legislature should consolidate and modernise prison regulations in legislation that reflects international human rights law and provides sufficient redress for their breach. These rules must be made public in accordance with Rules 27, 28 and 29 of the Standard Minimum Rules.

The procedures for complaints against prison authorities are inadequate. Japanese Prison Law allows for appeal directly to the Minister of Justice, but this system exists in name only. The Japan Times newspaper reports that in the past two years there have been about 250 complaints of abuse, some very serious, but no guards "have ever received disciplinary action" through appeal to the Minister of Justice.

The Commission and international community must continue to hold Japan accountable for the state sponsored torture. Because the Justice Ministry has been unwilling to act, an independent watchdog with investigative and prosecutorial power is urgently needed.  

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