What's Life Like Inside A Japanese Prison? | Witness | HD Japan Jail Crime Documentary

Nagano, in the heart of the Japanese mountains, after months of negotiations, we have been given permission to film inside the

prison

. Hello, the

prison

has 900 inmates, all men, from common criminals to murderers. The management has established some conditions. We can't film. doors or interrogate the guards in front of the inmates and, above all, we cannot address the prisoners at the end of the filming, only two of them will be able to answer our questions in the presence of the guards during the two days that we last. You will discover the Japanese prison world from a Western perspective it is a disciplinary hell thank you foreigner impressed by the silence by the impeccable order even the sandals are lined up in front of the cells in the morning the prisoners wake up to the screams of the guards but also classical music.

Oh, some cells have six men, others are single cells reserved for the best-behaved prisoners. Here there is no overcrowding in prisons like in European countries or unhealthy conditions. The building is modern and perfectly clean, but the lives of the prisoners have been precisely regulated. each movement is timed to the millimeter they have exactly one hour to have breakfast brush their teeth and shave everyone at the same time and then they have to thoroughly clean the entire cell thank you everything has to be placed exactly in the right place the guards check that everything is in place order if business is interrupted and Rule they receive a warning if they persist they are punished um that's right the punishment can last between 1 and 60 days in solitary confinement with no activities or television or reading for prison staff this is not harassment it is simply a Japanese vision of order where everything is organized according to the group, not the individual, a world apart, it is this prison regime that Carlos would have faced if he were convicted and from which he wanted to escape at all costs, how does such a particular judicial system work? ? the work, although simply strict in the eyes of the Japanese, for the foreigners who were arrested, it can seem inhumane, it is often based on confessions that can lead to miscarriages of justice, this love of order is ingrained in the culture of the country, where discipline and rules are paramount, you don't know anyone. ever talk it's like no you don't because they're not talking about standards reinforced by people who go so far as to celebrate their prison system yeah yeah why would you create a prison party?

It's a prison. Japan has one of the lowest

crime

levels. In the world the number of prisoners is proportionally four times less than in France today the prisons are emptying and the prison population is aging this system is sometimes incomprehensible to Westerners but the Japanese did not tolerate Carlos Gunn's refusal to respect it this It is an investigation into the heart of a machine that, although effective, can break lives. On January 8, the eyes of the world turn to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after 14 months in prison and then under house arrest. Carlos gon is about to give a press conference. after his impressive escape from Japan there is a lot of excitement all the media are invited except the Japanese who stay at the door students ladies and gentlemen inside the Press Union Carlos the thug makes his entrance between flashes he is the boss and he wants to prove it organizes order of the questions he himself today intends to tell the truth in November 2018 he was arrested in Tokyo for hiding income and embezzlement we are talking about tens of millions of euros Carlos has answered point by point but his favorite defense is to attack the Japanese justice system No I escaped justice.

I fled injustice and persecution, political persecution after enduring more than 400 days of inhumane treatment in a system designed to break me and unwilling to provide me with even a modicum of justice. I had no choice but to protect myself. and my family in the front row his wife Carol is delighted she also attacks the country that locked him up yesterday a few days later we traveled 10,000 kilometers to Japan the land of Mount Fuji at the Ministry of Justice in Tokyo other press conferences held much more confidential there are some cameras and many computers but no foreign television the minister of this democratic country does not hide her anger towards the most famous fugitive in the world a foreigner defends his system that is certainly severe but that bears fruit its objective Zero

crime

and zero tolerance order and discipline

what

We will find out when we return to Nagano Prison the prisoners' day is planned until the minute at 7:50 a.m. prisoners go out to work heads in the form of a uniform they march instep dad dad then they have to give their numbers work is obligatory for everyone but unpaid it is an integral part of a prisoner's sentence abroad before starting work they exercise during three minutes yes, all

life

in the prison is organized around several factories with 50 inmates each, cushions and shoes are made there to sell.

The prisoners will receive a small allowance upon release according to the management. The work is necessary for rehabilitation. um prisoners are not allowed to talk to each other during working hours again this would be an inconceivable rule in other places in order to say a few words to each other they must ask permission by raising their hand at meal time the guard carefully checks the portions they must be exactly the same foreigners except for rice where the amount depends on the activity carried out they leave just after lunch the inmates have a short break they can read the newspaper or cut their nails they can even talk then comes the best part of their day Free time the inmates have time set aside for entertainment every day except weekends again they go there Marching Step: the guard walks back to closely monitor the line, if loaded inmates have exactly 40 minutes to relax, but first they have to warm up like at work and then they rush to make the most of it and play ping pong or board games there.

There is even a small TV for karaoke. The break is soon over. It is time to return to work, which lasts eight hours a day. It is time to interview a prisoner. A 27-year-old man is brought to us. The interview takes place in an office in the presence. of two guards sentenced him to three years in prison for robbery he has one and a half years left despite the presence of the guards he dares to speak um it's in the afternoon inmates are encouraged to study at 7 pm sharp Television It turns on, you can see it until nine at night and then it turns off.

The penis has been used for discipline since childhood, but it is difficult for foreign inmates to accept. Another Frenchman has a traumatic experience in the Japanese prison system. He has inside experience of the way inmates are treated. Mark Carpales is 35 years old He has a mild form of Asperger's syndrome He is also a computer genius He was locked up for 11 months but decided to stay in Japan after his release A good meal The pleasure he forgot while he was imprisoned abroad His case It is a major scandal in Japan that begins in 2014. Mark Copulus made his fortune with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but when his company goes bankrupt, he has to publicly apologize to an audience of journalists, soon discovers that millions of euros have disappeared and is accused of stealing the money the nightmare begins thanks

japan

ese spends four months in custody then he is transferred to kosage prison where Carlos was locked up proof that the prisoners were being treated well the authorities opened their doors to journalists last year there too everything is clean and neat but according to Mark Copulus it's not the decoration that drives you crazy it's the rules in Kosagay the prisoners are awaiting trial they don't work and are in solitary confinement foreigner foreigner The Comedy is an empty padded cell where he spends four hours tied up then is punished for four days no more books or writing materials finally after almost a year behind bars he has been judged innocent of embezzlement and officially freed from the charges he is still a guilty man thanks these conditions of detention do not seem to bother the Japanese, for On the contrary, the penitentiary administration is proud of its prisons, even promoting the most severe ones.

The famous Kosuke Prison with its impressive X-shaped architecture. The building is colossal. It's the last place you think of going to have fun. Thank you and yet once. Every year the authorities organize a big festival there, in the public space that surrounds it there are 10,000 people celebrating a few meters from the cells on stage a Japanese pop star all day long one show after another then the visitors head to the stands set up for the On this occasion, people can take a photo with a prison guard's camp today, yes, on stage, law enforcement officers are showing how effectively they stop bad guys, but the highlight of the festival This is when visitors try the dish normally served to Japanese prisoners, Curry and Rice.

The rice people have to wait an hour to receive their tray, but for three euros it is worth it. Foreigner, there is no doubt that the prisoners are treated well. Reach the moon. Prisoner welfare. Efficient police and friendly guards. The festival presents an ideal prison system. Only one person is surprised. In this public relations exercise we asked Thomas Savicus to come with us. This Lithuanian man spent six months in prison for trying to kidnap his own daughter in Japan in divorce cases. Foreign parents are systematically deprived of their children. Why would you create a prison party?

It's a prison, the kind of brainwashing that's going on here is just mind-blowing, you see, you look around you, you know, the little kids are enjoying the day, it's like a park, does it look like a park? You know, any kind of human right. the rapes are happening right there, don't be fooled, you know this prison, oh it's much better, it's almost a big restaurant, Curry and believe me, they don't give you this kind of courage there, the public is not here to care about the fate of the prisoners. The following stalls sell products made from prisoners from all over Japan, leather goods, furniture and, in particular, comfortable and slightly retro shoes.

Thomas can't believe it's strange how outraged Thomas is. The party goes to a student concert with free suits. cotton candy for children yes, the prison system is not going to change, but there is another aspect of the treatment of detainees that is criticized by lawyers and many NGOs: the confession policy in Japan is called hostage justice if the accused denies accusation. Custody can be extended indefinitely. They are questioned intensely until they confess that this is

what

happened to businessman Carlos. He was arrested on November 19, 2018, just after landing at Tokyo airport. In these images that have traveled around the world, a team of prosecutors is conducting a search for his private jet out of sight Carlos Gunn does not reappear until two months later during a court appearance for a bail request the cameras television stations cannot film him the president with a severe appearance denies his request after 108 days of detention he is finally released for the first time here he leaves prison hidden under a mask disguised as a worker on the advice of his lawyer to deceive journalists it is an attempt that he is not fooling anyone the press follows him as he plans to give an important press conference in the On April 11, 2019 he learns that he will be arrested again on new charges.

This is prosecutors' method of dividing charges to allow the custody period to extend sometimes by months, so Carlos Gohan records a video. The first message is: I am. innocent and spent 108 days in prison because I have always been consistent with this position that I was innocent of all charges the next day I return to prison for another 22 days a system of comings and goings in tension with the sole purpose of breaking the accused foreigner this obsession with confessions can destroy lives this is the story of Keiko Aoki every week she comes to put flowers where she lost a child in a house fire Keiko managed to save her son from the fire but not her daughter who was 11 years old years Mario tonight Keiko spent 21 years in prison and came out at 51 years old. together with her partner she was accused of starting the fire to kill her daughter and collect the foreign insurance money right after the fire the police refused to believe it was an accident for them the cause is undoubtedly criminal they are looking for a culprit at all costs and They start harassing Keiko, her daughter has just died and she has to be interrogated.

It's the police. It's a confession. Based on this, Keiko will be sentenced, but in prison she decides to fight with the help of lawyers and human rights associations. She gets an appeal. miracle in Japan judicial errors are rarely recognized abroad I don't know, the State recognized its mistake and compensated Keiko Aoki with 750,000 euros for a ruin Keiko's

life

is no exception, she is not just a victim of the jealous official of police, it is an entire justice system based on confessions, whichconfirms Hiroshi Ichikawa, a former prosecutor who was taught how to extract confessions abroad. If the suspects collapse, there is no hope here. 90% of convictions are based on confessions considered definitive proof in Japan, despite the risk of miscarriages of justice, a risk all the more serious as Japan is one of the few democracies that still applies the death penalty.

A single man embodies all the injustice of the system. He is 84 years old. Iwao Hakamada spent half his life on death row for murders he did not commit. Since his release in 2014, he has been walking every day for three or four hours. He is a celebrity. local is accompanied by mashiko a woman who has taken a liking to him he came out of prison a broken man after decades of solitary confinement he doesn't say a word totally isolated from the rest of the foreign world accompanies him home she is trying to make his old age easier for him I do it.

He has been living with his sister since his release. She has kept some happy memories of her brother's time when he was a fellow professional boxer and then the heartbreaking letters he sent from prison. My name is, but her judgment is going wrong. Forced to confess burdened by. fabricated police evidence he is sentenced to death he resists but then something breaks him he is finally released after 48 years in prison when DNA tests prove his innocence we met a man who knows better than anyone the trauma of those sentenced to death toshio Sakamoto former prison director, has

witness

ed many executions, but convicts face an additional form of torture.

They spend an average of seven years on death row and do not know when they will be hanged. The foreign LRA are led to the gallows last November. An event revives. the debate on the death penalty for the first time in 38 years the Pope visits the Japanese archipelago that is home to 1.5 million Christians Akamada is one of the VIP guests of the Vatican disappears in the middle of an excited crowd when the Pope enters the arena is photographed with his sister in the front rows his very presence is a strong signal against the death penalty the pope slips in a phrase full of insinuations um these words might not be enough to abolish the death penalty eighty percent of Japanese support the executions last year 15 convex were executed more than 100 people are still sentenced to death how can you explain such a judicial system? responds to a philosophy rooted in the country's culture, order and harmony are cardinal virtues that everyone must respect.

This is what Jake Adelstein, an American journalist who has been in Japan for 30 years, will show us that works organically well just when the lights go down. They turn red, you can't see anymore, you know, as if people had already crossed paths, everyone knows it, it's okay, you know, it's time to wait for the next light, very calm people, now there's a rule, there's a discipline, there's something you know is like China or there's a spy camera watching you and they deduct points from your social credit because you're talking on the train no, um, people just obey the rules because that's what they do here and that's what they teach you since you're a kid, you know?

There are rules for everything, rules make Japanese society work. Smoking cigarettes, except in designated areas, is now prohibited in most of the city, that's great, there's an unwritten rule that says you shouldn't eat and walk at the same time, that's an app, that's how It is prohibited to drink and walk at the same time. Japan is a country that constantly likes to warn you about things you shouldn't do, this is like you know you can't play on escalators, there are no baby strollers on escalators, you know, parents take the lead. hand your children when they are on the escalators. um, don't move your hands up and down on the escalators, it's in the Metro where these standards internalized by the Japanese are the most felt, sorry, well, the other thing that's surprising is that we really annoy people because we're talking. on the train and no one ever talks on the train because it's like you hear that sound like people are talking no you don't because they're not talking.

This is one of the things I like about Japan and even before cell phones no one talked about everyone. on the train and it puts a lot of emphasis on Harmony and somehow you know that the criminal course expects the accused to harmonize with that system and just accept it even if he is, you know, even if he is not. guilty um and when people say you know no I didn't do it like The Audacity Of You to challenge the whole system you know this guy is almost good you know you deserve everything you get because you're a troublemaker it's love to the order on which the country was built human relations are based on respect for hierarchy and social norms your neighbors are there until 8 at night in the Kabukicho district of Tokyo every two or three days volunteers from a respectable age in an old police station the only weapons in this small patrol are glow sticks and fluorescent vests shopping list uh foreign foreign policeman like his colleagues takes his foreign role very seriously but does not intervene when the driver arrives the role is only to inform the police and they issue warnings with the benefit of a moral lesson good morning an hour and a dozen warnings later the patrol has finished groups like this exist in every city in the country is this way of life what causes crime rates Are they so low in any case? crime is decreasing year after year it is increasing in a part of the population the elderly some elderly Japanese prefer prison to solitude we go to the southwest of Japan to Iwakuni famous for its American base abroad and its women's prison okay hello um Japan The prisoners here are also aging, one in three prisoners is over 65 years old.

Some are 85 years old and the others work eight hours a day. The only difference is that they get their walkers back when they leave the factory. It is sad to see these old women bent over in the cold of the prison, returning without heat, only two or three showers per day. week. This is far from a luxury retirement home, but some prisoners seem relieved to be behind bars. This 70 year old woman is on her fourth stint for shoplifting outside, like many old Japanese people, she was alone and she got carried away. I can't help it, but if they locked her up on purpose the gods had to adapt to this new population, it's a delicate topic, the God that we have has prepared his answer um nothing um most of these inmates are here for petty theft stealing food shoes or bags in 20 years crimes committed by older people have quadrupled in Japan in an attempt to stop the phenomenon the prison has created a rehabilitation Of course, the program includes exercises and tips on how to stay fit and, in particular, incredible workouts for learn to care for babies.

The goal is to help these elderly women find their place in society when they are released and thus prevent them from committing crimes again. left the misery of Japan in a picture in a few years maybe these will be the last elderly prisoners alone with no other option elsewhere the prisons are emptying okay, it is difficult for a Westerner to understand this way of life based on order and discipline, but the gona fair illustrates it. On the other hand, the Japanese also find it difficult to understand why a man who has promised to answer for his actions before the law preferred to flee and not respect the rules.