Punishments under the current Penal Code are aimed at preventing recidivism and, in essence, have long been interpreted as a form of retribution. But in recent years, the concept of rehabilitation has begun to win ground over punishment. On Tuesday, the government approved a Cabinet decision on a draft amendment to the Penal Code and related laws on imprisonment.
Currently, the principal punishments in the nation's justice system are the death penalty, imprisonment with work, imprisonment without work, a fine, and a sentence that includes both imprisonment and a fine.
Punishments involving imprisonment with or without work are supposed to reflect the seriousness of the violation, but the proposed bill will integrate the 2 categories.
The bill is scheduled to be submitted to the current session of parliament. If approved, it will be the 1st revision of punishment regulations since the current Penal Code was established in 1907. The amendment is expected to take effect within 3 years of promulgation, as the change will also require amendments to about 860 laws that cover imprisonment, as well as municipal ordinances.
Work, in principle, is mandatory for medically cleared inmates whose punishments stipulate it.
Prison work includes woodworking, printing, cooking and cleaning, as well as vocational training aimed at obtaining qualifications that can be used after release. Inmates are paid after their release, and this form of punishment is usually imposed on criminals who have committed more serious offenses.
Meanwhile, imprisonment without obligatory work is often given to less serious law violations.
Under the existing penal laws, offenders are sentenced to set terms of as little as a month to up to 20 years. The most serious crimes, however, can carry sentences of life in prison.
Placing more focus on reintegrating convicts into society, the Justice Ministry started working in recent years toward a more flexible approach to correctional rehabilitation programs, and since then many prisons have eased mandatory work requirements.
The ministry has also stressed that work is particularly ineffective and unsuitable for elderly inmates, some of whom are in poor health. Compounding that issue, the elderly prison population has also been on the rise, with the number of inmates 65 and older rising 2.1 times from the level seen in 2001, according to the ministry's 2019 white paper on crime.
Highlighting how prison work isn't necessarily preparing younger inmates for post-prison life, some penal facilities have reportedly asked younger inmates to change the diapers of older prisoners.
Overall, Justice Ministry data show the average number of inmates working per day in 2019 stood at 38,864 and as of March 2020, 79.8% of the inmates whose sentences did not require them to work chose to work on a voluntary basis.
The ministry has explained that training and guidance would better prepare inmates for life after they are released from prison. The revision is intended to ultimately enable inmates to gain skills for their post-prison lives.
The proposed bill, however, is likely to face some challenges.
Concerns are already growing among legal experts over whether inmates will fully understand the purpose of correctional rehabilitation programs. A lack of expertise among prison staff on rehabilitation programs has also been cited as a concern.
The government, for its part, has said it will put training regimens in place to ensure that prison staff members are prepared to deliver such programs.
Source: The Japan Times, Staff, March 11, 2022
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde