is a prison in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is located in the city of

Fuchū, Tokyo file:FuchuCityHall2023091.jpg, 260px, Fuchū City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Fuchū serves as a regional commercial center and a commuter town for workers in cent ...

to the west of the center of

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Before the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Fuchū prison held Communist leaders, members of banned religious sects, and leaders of the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a series of diplomatic and militant efforts to liberate Korea from Japanese rule. The movement began around the late 19th or early 20th century, and ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. As independence a ...

History

Fuchū Prison was opened in June 1935 after the need for a new and larger prison was determined by the

Home Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

in a review following the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (, or ) was a major earthquake that struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshu at 11:58:32 JST (02:58:32 UTC) on Saturday, 1 September 1923. It had an approximate magnitude of 8.0 on the mom ...

, during which Tokyo's main prison,

Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima 23 special wards, ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was orig ...

, was destroyed. During the pre-war period, the prison also housed many

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s as well as common criminals. After the war, the prison was visited by Harold Isaacs of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', French correspondent

Robert Guillain Robert Guillain (4 September 1908 – 29 December 1998) was a French journalist who spent most of his career in Asia at times of momentous events, such as the Pacific War. He wrote several books on Asia, especially Japan. Guillain was considered ...

, John K. Emmerson, E. Herbert Norman and '' Domei'' reporter Tay Tateishi. The 1968 “ 300 million yen robbery” took place outside of the walls of the prison. The prison facilities were renovated over a ten-year period from 1986 to 1995. As of December 2015, Fuchū Prison was the largest prison in Japan, housing 2086 prisoners. The prison covers an area of , and is surrounded by a wall with a height of , The cells are divided into four blocks (ordinary prisoners, foreign prisoners, mentally ill prisoners, and physically disabled or injured prisoners). Male foreign prisoners in Japan are generally housed at Fuchū Prison. The prison also contains numerous workshops for

vocational training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a Skilled worker, skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self em ...

. Foreigners are incarcerated for various crimes but all in single cells in two or three blocks.

Notable inmates

* George Abe - Japanese author and former

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

* Richard Hinds - American murderer * Kim Chon-hae * Yoshio Shiga *

Kenichi Shinoda , also known as , is a Japanese yakuza and the sixth and current ''kumicho'' (supreme kingpin, or chairman) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. Career Shinoda was born in Ōita, Kyushu.Yoshie Shiratori - Prison escapee who escaped four prisons, this prison being his final (and the first in which he served his full prison sentence before parole). * Masashi Tashiro * Kyuichi Tokuda

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchu Prison Prisons in Japan Fuchū, Tokyo Buildings and structures in Tokyo 1935 establishments in Japan

History

Notable inmates

See also

References

Further reading

External links