Japan's detention center gives foreign media a look

Detention center, yet they refer to the people being held as "inmates", which is a word to describe a prisoner or someone convicted of a crime, and not just a suspect.

Not to mention that the picture looks like a prison.

So what everyone here already knows, has been confirmed, Japan believes those SUSPECTED of a crime are in fact guilty until they are found innocent. Otherwise there is no need to treat them, nor call them, inmates!

I've said it before, but we have first-hand knowledge of Japan's "justice". My stepson was held for a lengthy period, and endured extended interrogations and multiple types of drug tests (all negative) all just because someone in trouble mentioned his name. We had to hire a lawyer and threaten a lawsuit before they released him

Many nations have harsh detention conditions. In Thailand, for example, suspects can be held in chains as they await trial. Detentions can become long in the U.S., especially for people suspected of serious crimes such as terrorism. But generally, a person is presumed innocent, has the right to have an attorney present and is freed within 72 hours if there is no charge.

So? Once again, the "deflect, compare, and obfuscate" defense of the indefensible?

stressed that, unlike U.S. prisons, where violence might be common, his inmates were safe

Try to emphasis, detention in Japan is better no matter you are guilty or not?

The interrogation rooms, where prosecutors grill the suspects, were not shown during Monday's tour.

Of course why would they, that’s the most important part of judicial system, like whether lawyer or camera is exist during interogation.

This is just another guided tour they often do in Japan.

Yes, the facility itself looks very humane. That's fine and dandy, but that it can't erase the fact that you aren't allowed a lawyer to advise you during interrogations in what I assume is a very confusing stressful situation to be in--being incarcerated and not knowing what is the best decision to make regarding your future in Japan. That is, if you are a foreigner. That and no bail, in most cases.

Does anyone else get the feeling that the cell in the photo is brand new or recently renovated? It does not look like it has ever been lived in, no usual"wear and tear".

Takenaka stressed that, unlike U.S. prisons, where violence might be common, his inmates were safe.

"They don't have to defend themselves as in the West. They are protected," he told reporters. "I believe conditions are more than adequate."

Setting aside the lunacy of hostage justice, I have to say this is one thing Japan's prisons do well. And while attitudes towards cap-pun haven't evolved much, I don't hear many Japanese talking about "prison justice," as many depraved people do in my home country.

I was arrested for assault in a small city in northern Honshu and interrogated for most of a night and early morning. It wasn't injustice against the innocent; I roughed some other dudes up.

Other than saying I wanted a lawyer, I stayed silent. They played good cop/bad cop, they hollered and screamed, they even slapped me around a bit. But I was released when I firmly demanded a lawyer, an English-speaking officer, and a phone call to the US Embassy.

I knew darn well that the US Embassy would tell me to go pound sand, ("Hi! I got arrested for getting into a drunken scuffle with some dudes who mouthed off to me." ) Apparently the cops didn't know that, because they immediately went into a worried huddle and left the interrogation room. About 45 minutes later, they brought in some elderly cop who spoke pretty good English and who had apparently gotten out of bed and come downtown just for me. He tried to ask me their questions in English, but I just asked him if I was being charged with a crime. "No, because you haven't said anything." was his answer. "Then walk me out the front door past your sargent", I said. And that's just what he did.

I guess I'm one of the 2% who don't incriminate themselves when arrested in Japan. Now let the down votes fly!

Kosuge Detention Center in Tokyo has also an execution facility and some of Aum culprits were were executed there last year.  I do not know why the detention center has an execution facility.

I did notice the copy of the Japan Times on the table however. Interesting.

That looks more like a prison than a detention center to me however.

Schopenhauer

Do you mean to tell me those are 16 year old tatamis? Everything in that photo is virtually unused. Please note that it says there were no inmates on that floor and the press was not allowed on the floor where inmates were.

Whitewash.

Does anyone else get the feeling that the cell in the photo is brand new or recently renovated? It does not look like it has ever been lived in, no usual"wear and tear".

They're putting on a dog and pony show for the media. Most detention centers in Japan keep a special cell or even an entire wing of their facilities unused precisely for the purposes of showing guests around that would otherwise see what the actual conditions are inside.

None of them look like this. They're filthy from floor to ceiling, the tatami are crawling with insects and are generally completely trashed from years and years of use without replacement.

Never trust anything the ministry of justice has released to the media - while it may look alright on the surface, you're being given the ol' Iraqi Information Minister treatment.

Suspects in Japan are routinely questioned by prosecutors without a lawyer present and can be held up to 23 days per possible charge without possibility of bail. Prosecutors can add charges to prolong the detention.

This is the hostile Japan; where everyone is guilty until proven innocent.

My husband was taken to the police station once for looking "ayashii" (suspicious). They searched his car and found tools not put away in the tool box so they took it upon themselves to call it weapons.

They tried to blame him for recent burglaries and asked him why the tools weren't put away in the tool box. The tools, BTW, were hammers and screwdrivers. They insisted that he used it for break-ins and what not.

They interrogated him for 6 hours!! They didn't allow him to call me or anyone else. At the end, they made him write and sign a memo saying he won't leave tools unattended.

I feel sorry for anyone that gets taken into custody. I can only imagine how many are coerced into confessing for crimes they didn't commit.

People should have rights in detention centers. In Japan, it seems like they are treated the same as prisoners.

I believe I may have trouble there as there appears to be no washlet on the toilet. Seeing the facility lacks a washlet is quite a good deterrent for me so I will likely maintain my clean record in Japan.

The image that is portrayed abroad is what is cared about and what an easy and effective way using the foreign media.

 a guard was recently given a special award for preventing an attempt.

Well done for doing your job. Can I get a special award for behaving like a human being too?

Also, where's the TP?

I see the hotel like building when I go to Tokyo

You must stay in some lousy hotels, if that's your idea of one. It's an ugly, grey concrete Lubyanka. The stench of misery is almost palapable, even from across the river.

China or Russia

I thought Japan, being a democratic nation and all, had higher aspirations than communist dictatorships. No?

Should we view Japan on the same level as them when it comes to human rights? Or is it a race to the bottom.

I hear the detention center becomes full in winter. Aged homelesses commit small crimes expecting they will be admitted to the center.

I'm a former MP and was stationed in Japan. Believe me, they are not that beautiful! What you see is for public viewing.

techall

It was built anew in 2006 at the same place. I see the hotel like building when I go to Tokyo on JR Joban Line.

Bathing is allowed three times a week in the summer, and twice in the winter. 

This part is absolutely barbaric and indefensible. Even if these inmates were guilty, what purpose does requiring them to be filthy and smelly serve?

This is standard in Europe including in France. Lawyers can attend interrogations but are required to keep silent.

Your point is meaningless since we are talking about a system, the Japanese one, where lawyers are not allowed during interrogation in the first place. At least in other countries they are allowed precisely to avoid situation where intimidations are used to obtain a confession. And what you say about France is not fully correct. The lawyer is asked not to do any statement until the end of the interrogation but he can in practice influence his client for example by asking him to keep silent if things go wrong. Also and this is important, after the interrogation is over, the lawyer has the possibility to interrogate further his client concerning missing points or about clarifications that he thinks are required. Far cry from what is available in Japan, which again does not allow a lawyer at all….

Rather better than France. British government advisories say you may be held as much as 24 months before going to trial. The same advisories say foreign nationals are almost never granted bail.

You confuse two regimes in France which are known as «détention provisoire » et « garde à vue ». The provisional detention (détention provisoire) in France is quite different than in Japan as it’s an exceptional measure because it’s used to jail people until their trial when there are indisputable evidences of their crime and when they are considered to be dangerous. The provisional detention can be up to two years (exceptionally three to four ) and is decided by the investigating judge with consultation with the judge of « des libertés et de la détention » (liberty and detention judge). This is a fundamental difference with the excessive power given to the prosecutors in Japan. There is no a single chance that Ghosn would have been put in jail in provisional detention given what he is accused for. The worst he could have got was to be put in custody (garde à vue) for maximum 24 hours (exceptionally 96 hours).

France is known for some of the worst prisons in Europe.

It’s true that many prisons in France are in poor conditions. But that’s not the point here. The point is not how the prisons look like, it’s how people are put inside them. And Japan is definitely not respecting the rights of the defense and has been called out multiple times already before Ghosn’s case for arbitrary putting people in prison (go to ask this US student who has been in prison for months for breaking a lamp in a club). And even if Japan is trying this ridiculous attempt of propaganda by opening the prison to the press after carefully making sure that everything is shinny is not changing that fact that Japan justice system is at third world level.

If Ghosn gets a conviction and a prison term from the charges Renault has been pushing, he will wish he was back in Japan.

Utter BS, the truth is that first of all in France he would not have spent more than 24 hours in prison compared to the 3+ months he did in Japan with the crappy food, no watch, the lights on all the time and the abusing rules that he had to follow even when sleeping. Even if you believe that he would have been put in provisional detention, and again there is no legal reasons to do that for his case, he would have spent his time in the VIP corner of the prison called «la Santé » where he would been treated thousands times better than he did in Japan. On top of that, by now he would have access to the fully detailed accusations and associated documents so that he can prepare his defense, something that his lawyers have not been able to do so far in Japan and not until his trial. So by definition Japan does not allow a defense to defend.

Hey, you don’t like the accommodations... don’t commit the crime.

This is a photograph of a detention center, not a prison. The people in these places have not been convicted of anything.

Warden Shigeru Takenaka acknowledged there was room for improvement,

Just no will for improvement. You break people with silence here.

Held without trial...

whats the sound of one hand clapping?

article fails to mention the scores of inmates who die from deliberate lack of medical attention

"They don't have to defend themselves as in the West. They are protected,"

Why the west is always identified for many Japanese as the U.S.

In many countries within the European Union jails are relative safe and way more human than in Japan.

Norway,Sweden and Denmark are good examples,and even Germany.

Wait. What!?? Are you telling me that more than 75% of the inmatrs may or could be innocent??? Really Japan!??

That's what detention centers for.... to detain unconvicted prisoners and condemned criminals

Kosuge Detention Center in Tokyo has also an execution facility and some of Aum culprits were were executed there last year. I do not know why the detention center has an execution facility.

Condemned criminals under death penalty are usually detained at detention centers, not in prison. That's maybe why.

I think they are treated and protected a lot better than in China or Russia.

He did not know how many suicide attempts had occurred at his facility, but noted proudly that a guard was recently given a special award for preventing an attempt.

Wow! They don't keep figures on that? What a surprise. Glad someone got an award, though.

Foreigners make up 14% of those at the detention house...

Interesting. Foreigners make up, what, 2 percent of the population? No wonder the peaceful locals, who would never commit a crime (look at the daily news for example), are against influxes of us pesky foreigners...

Bravo, Tokyo Detention Center! Some great photos you shared with us there. But next time, I would prefer an unskewed, unbiased version of reality.

Looks like the Hilton compared to Naha prison, quit your whining.

There is no prison in Naha, it's a detention center and jail facility. The Okinawa prison for adult prisoners is in Nanjo, Tsukishiro.

Just a media stunt when japanese system is finger pointed at by the world

I don't know, it sure looks a heck of a lot nicer than some of the Army barracks I stayed in in the '90s...

Would like to see the rules that are applied to detainees. That would be telling on the mental pressure applied to detainees. From what I've been told the daily regime is based on mentally breaking the detainees relentlessly.

2 of them are the ones court-martialed by the US Navy and given over to Japanese authorities on the grounds that they not be executed. They are serving life sentences for murdering a fellow sailor - he was gay, so this is was a hate crime - on Japanese territory. It was in Tokyo and the two murderers stuffed the body in a restroom garbage can. They probably wish they were the ones dead now.

First off, whenever there is a SOFA on SOFA crime here in Japan, and it happens off base, the Japanese have the right of first refusal regarding prosecution. They typically hand over the jurisdiction to the military and let them deal with it.

The US military CAN NOT dictate the sentence that the Japanese courts may or may not hand down and if you are talking about this case, it was one guy, in Sasebo, and he is serving life in the US.

https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/27/us/sailor-gets-life-for-killing-gay-shipmate.html

They're putting on a dog and pony show for the media. Most detention centers in Japan keep a special cell or even an entire wing of their facilities unused precisely for the purposes of showing guests around that would otherwise see what the actual conditions are inside.

LOL! This is propaganda gold! They are worreid because Ghosn's lawyer is talking to the UN, and the Olympics is coming around.

Japan is worried about their image. They don't want risk their plans to make the entire country listed as a UNESCO World heritage site!

Half of the rooms are vacant ? They are perfect to be listed on airbnb.

hooktrunk2

I think they can meet lawyers at the detention center but not in the room they are investigated by the prosecutors.

Prison break should film there

Okay, I just sent this article to Greg Kelly, let's see what he says.

Japan's system of refusing bail while suspects await trial, often for months, has drawn international criticism as "hostage justice."

Japans CCP (Crimonal Code of Practice) under the constitution spacifically states that all susprcts awaiting trail are entitled to bail.

The reason why this is being disregarded is that judges in Japan judges decide bail. Judges are appointed for a two year tenure by the Justice Ministry. The Justice Minister is nearly always a prosecutor. J-judges are basically scared.

Incidently, safety is a very poor excuse for keeping "inmates" in solitary. This isolation could explain Japans high (68℅) re-offending rate.

It is well known in most countries the effect that isolation has upon a persons mental health.

Takenaka stressed that, unlike U.S. prisons,

So shouldn't the comparison be with the U.S. equivalent of a pre-conviction detention centres, rather than post-conviction prison?

NorthernlifeToday 12:11 pm JSTOne thing you dont want here is to be locked up for anything...you soon learn you have zero rights and being a foreigner makes it worse.

'Americans make up 4% of the foreign inmates'.

2 of them are the ones court-martialed by the US Navy and given over to Japanese authorities on the grounds that they not be executed. They are serving life sentences for murdering a fellow sailor - he was gay, so this is was a hate crime - on Japanese territory. It was in Tokyo and the two murderers stuffed the body in a restroom garbage can. They probably wish they were the ones dead now.

If that's a detention centre I would hate to be in a prison.

"....public opinion would not allow a fancy lifestyle."

That's what hardly any of the critics want to acknowledge. Most Japanese people are happy, even proud, of their criminal justice system and would object to giving prisoners Western-style human rights like presumption of innocence or more time spent outdoors.

I'd imagine prison of the future may have WiFi and access to laptops and cinema rooms.. If you serve life, may as well use the Internet to kill time.. Of course it would all be monitored, though it's better than wondering around like a sewer rat in there and to be productive, though I imagine they have factories for cheap labor, I saw a documentary on prisons in the US sourcing inmates still in prison for cheap labor.. That initive may be coming here too, a lot of zaibatsu have a history of slave labor from WW2

It’s not really deflecting or obfuscating. At least that indicates an understanding of the argument and an intentional defense. I’ve found it’s more a lack of thinking and inability to employ logic. It happens in other countries and so it must be okay. It happens, in particularly developed countries, then surely it must be okay.

There is also the assumption that if the same case occurred in the US, posters here would not protest.

And of course there is the this is our country, we do it our way without regards to whether that is really the way you would want to do it. Again thinking is not encouraged.

Thank you for supporting my contention regarding "obfuscating, deflecting, and defending" the indefensible.

Everything you wrote here does exactly that.

Yubari, yes dumb is no excuse.

@buddy

once for looking "ayashii" (suspicious). They searched his car and found tools not put away in the tool box so they took it upon themselves to call it weapons.

They always use suspicious as reason to conduct a search, sometimes they could not explain why they consider you as suspicous. You can refuse and stand your ground since it's completely voluntarily. 

CaptDingleheimer's comment showed us that you have right to stand your ground.

They interrogated him for 6 hours!! They didn't allow him to call me or anyone else. At the end, they made him write and sign a memo saying he won't leave tools unattended.

These things they just made it up, of course they do all those things without lawyer presence so people have no clue what are their rights.

They just want to avoid apologizing to your husband since they couldn't prove any crime was committed or being committed . So what they is to make him feel guilty by signing that memo, I really doubt they have any ground for doing that.

"It's an ugly, grey concrete Lubyanka. The stench of misery is almost palapable, even from across the river."

It is detention center. What do you expect? A king size bed and view of the city?

@Tokyo-Engr

I did notice the copy of the Japan Times on the table however. Interesting.

If the Japan Times pictured includes the International Edition of the NYT with Paul Krugman, etal., the warden’s cruelty knows no bounds.

Looks very nice.

that doesn't look like a prison at all too nice to be LUL

Guys. Don't expect Norwegian style 3 star hotel detention centers or prisons. Just go straight

Well boys, I've lived in worse places than that looks. I know it's probably not reality, but dagnabbed if that place doesn't look pretty decent. Not saying I want to go back to those living conditions, but I've been there (not prison). And I've seen much worse living conditions and food in many places in the world. Not defending the place at all, especially the Japanese system of interrogation, guilty already, etc., just that the place looks decent even if not the real rooms where people are.

It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. Having radio and Japan Times would certainly make the days pass quicker. Perhaps it might be easier not to commit a crime in the first place.

An inmate is anyone that's being held in a cell.

That's a nice looking private room. I'd rather to be held in one these rather than a US cell. It's not unlike a small 1K apartment.

Please note that it says there were no inmates on that floor and the press was not allowed on the floor where inmates were.

Whitewash.

Or maybe they just didn’t want to risk photos being taken of detainees or pictures of the layout of the facility where they are held being released for security reasons.

Not everything is a conspiracy.

He said some workers at the Tokyo Detention Center were nice and whispered to him as he headed to the prosecutors' interrogation, "Hang in there."

"Hang in there" I think this can be loosely translated as Gambate Kudasai?/ Gambare. It's never automatically or strictly denotes sympathy nor empathy for anyone. People just shout it everyone to pretend to be nice or they could be nice. How many times have people shouted to you gambare, even if they do not mean it, for me the answer is many times.

Looks like the Hilton compared to Naha prison, quit your whining.

.

so clean!

You can see your reflection onf the floor !

Very Japanese.

For a detention center is more than enough. I hope jails are same. I don’t want my taxes to keep criminals in luxury. Hey, you don’t like the accommodations... don’t commit the crime.

It looks worse than WW2 era prisons

High level yakuza in prison have hostess girls and other entertainment services come to them , I heard

seems most critics have been somehow imagining far worse conditions.

Don't worry. Conditions must be as it says, if not better.

Many nations have harsh detention conditions. In Thailand, for example, suspects can be held in chains as they await trial. Detentions can become long in the U.S., especially for people suspected of serious crimes such as terrorism. But generally, a person is presumed innocent, has the right to have an attorney present and is freed within 72 hours if there is no charge.

So? Once again, the "deflect, compare, and obfuscate" defense of the indefensible?

It’s not really deflecting or obfuscating. At least that indicates an understanding of the argument and an intentional defense. I’ve found it’s more a lack of thinking and inability to employ logic. It happens in other countries and so it must be okay. It happens, in particularly developed countries, then surely it must be okay.

There is also the assumption that if the same case occurred in the US, posters here would not protest.

And of course there is the this is our country, we do it our way without regards to whether that is really the way you would want to do it. Again thinking is not encouraged.

“It can't erase the fact that you aren't allowed a lawyer to advise you during interrogations”

This is standard in Europe including in France. Lawyers can attend interrogations but are required to keep silent.

“In Thailand, for example, suspects can be held in chains as they await trial.”

It is not unusual for suspects in the US to be shackled (chained) for court appearances.

Suspects in Japan are routinely questioned by prosecutors without a lawyer present and can be held up to 23 days per possible charge without possibility of bail. 

Rather better than France. British government advisories say you may be held as much as 24 months before going to trial. The same advisories say foreign nationals are almost never granted bail.

France is known for some of the worst prisons in Europe.

https://www.thelocal.fr/20190402/french-prisons-have-most-suicides-in-europe

If Ghosn gets a conviction and a prison term from the charges Renault has been pushing, he will wish he was back in Japan.