HOME > NATIONAL > Article

Text Size

small

medium

large


Japan Introduces Single Type of Imprisonment

Japan Introduces Single Type of Imprisonment

   Tokyo, June 2 (Jiji Press)--Japan has unified the criminal punishments of imprisonment with labor and imprisonment without labor, creating the first new type of punishment since the establishment of the Penal Code in 1907.
   The change came as the revised Penal Code took effect on Sunday, with the aim of lowering the recidivism rate by shifting weight from punishment to rehabilitation and treating prisoners more flexibly with a combination of prison work and education.
   The revised Penal Code, enacted in June 2022, stipulates that necessary work and education can be imposed to improve and rehabilitate prisoners. Labor is no longer mandatory for all prisoners.
   According to the government's white paper on crime, the recidivism rate was 47 pct in 2023. Reoffenders accounted for about half of those who were subject to police action in recent years.
   The penalty of imprisonment with labor was problematic in that prisoners sometimes had difficulty finding enough time to receive education for rehabilitation and prevention of reoffending because they were busy doing prison work.

To read a full story, please click here to find out how to subscribe.

NATIONAL

HEADLINES

POLITICS
Ishiba Lays Flowers at Memorial in Nara to Mourn Ex-PM Abe Shot Dead 3 Years Ago
ECONOMY
Lawson to Offer Overnight Car Stay Service at Convenience Store Parking Lots
SPORTS
Swallows Slugger Murakami Returns to Farm League Game after Injury in April
OTHER
Ceremony Marks Start of Supply of Japanese-Made Sustainable Aviation Fuel

AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL


Photos