Prisoners are detained in solitary confinement for months, forced to sit 'Buddha'style on the side of their beds all day. Beaten, starved and forgotten by many... the nightmare has begun and only the strongest will survive... if they're lucky! No person shall be compelled to testify against himself. 2) Confession made under compulsion, torture or threat, or after prolonged arrest or detention shall not be admitted in evidence. 3) No person shall be convicted or punished in cases where the only proof against him is his own confession. The Constitution of Japan - Article 38 Click Here to read the 'Overview for Bill on Transfer of International Convict' Information on Prisons in Japan from 1992

Chiba Detention Centre

Japan Jail where the nightmare begins for young British father…
	In 2002 Nick Baker, a 32 year old British chef, and father of a one year old son, traveled to Japan in advance of the World Cup. He was arrested at Tokyo's Narita Airport when ecstasy pills and cocaine were found in the false bottom of a suitcase. Nick protested he had been duped by a traveling companion, James Prunier, but Japanese police allowed Prunier to leave the country without questioning him. While Nick was spending some 10 months in solitary confinement for apparently "refusing to confess", it happened that Prunier was arrested in Belgium for allegedly tricking three other British travelers into smuggling drugs. (The "Mules" were released by Belgian authorities without charges). Nick's defence attorney requested that the facts of the Belgian case be admitted as evidence, but presiding Judge Kenji Kadoya, who in more than a decade on the bench has never found a single defendant "not guilty", refused this motion at the request of the prosecution. Instead, in June 2003, handing-down almost double what one might expect for murder in Japan, Kadoya sentenced Nick to 14 years in prison with hard labor, largely on the basis of testimony Nick was made to sign (written in Japanese, a language he does not understand). Click here for Latest News Updates Click here to read more about Nicks case .... Click Here to Sign the Justice For Nick Baker Petition Click here for website created by Nick's family...
Passport to prison - Rebecca Malthus and Gina Smith story
	It was the Asian OE that went terribly wrong. Ruth Laugesen talks to two Kiwi English language teachers who ended up in a Tokyo jail. For Rebecca Malthus, 28, and her newly arrived friend, Gina Smith, also 28, Tokyo was a glittering, humming world away from the usual Kiwi OE pilgrimages to grey, familiar London. Little did they know their excitment would turn to terror! After their arrest on drug possestion they were initially told they would be in custody for a day or two to answer questions, the women had in fact entered a state of judicial limbo. Under the "daiyo kangoku" system of imprisonment without trial, prisoners can be held for interrogation for 23 days without charge, without being offered bail, and without proper legal representation. Both Amnesty International and the UN Human Rights Committee have condemned the practice, which persuades many prisoners to confess to whatever they are accused of. "Many detainees confess during this initial detention period. Some have reportedly been beaten and many have alleged that they were tricked into believing that if they confessed the detention would end. The forced confessions have been used in court as evidence," says Amnesty in a 2000 report. Click here to read more about Rebecca and Gina's case ....
Free Major Brown (US)
	On December 19, 2002, Major Brown was wrongfully accused and subsequently indicted on assault charges and imprisoned in Okinawa, Japan.  Since that day, he has spent 149 days in solitary confinement, been exonerated  in court by the supposed accuser, and he and his family have been forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on his defense.  Yet, the trial has not ended, Okinawan officials have not relinquished their control over him, the U.S. Government continues to ignore his plight, and Major Brown's future is still at stake.  He has become a political pawn for corrupt Okinawan officials.  Click here to read more about Major Brown's case .... Free Major Brown Website
Govinda Prasad Mainali [Nepal]
	On October 20, The Supreme Court of Japan rejected an appeal by Mr. Govinda Prasad Mainali, a Nepalese criminal defendant, and his 1997 murder conviction was finalized. On April 14, 2000, The Tokyo District Court originally acquitted Govinda of the charge. However, after the prosecution's appeal, the Tokyo High Court (appeal court), overturning the lower court's ruling, and found him guilty on December 22, 2000. The sentence handed down by Judge Takagi was life imprisonment. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision, finalizing the life sentence. Govinda has been moved Dec 2005 - Write: Govinda Prasad Mainali [Nepal] - 4-2-2 Konan, Konan-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Pref. 233-8501 JAPAN New! Justice for Govinda - Download PDF Booklet - Click Here for Adobe Acrobat New! Is there Justice for Govinda?.... Click here to read more about Govinda's plight .... Persecution of a Nepali citizen in Japan - Click Here Letter from Govinda - Click Here
Chris Snell Framed in Japan
	Chris Snell, a lecturer in music at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Art (aka LIPA or Paul McCartney fame school), husband and father of two children, has been set up by criminals who put drugs in his suitcase on his way from Switzerland to Japan. Right now he is at Chiba Detention Centre. Update - Transfer 26 Oct 2004 - Chris Snell was transferred back to a prison in the UK on 26 October 2004. The transfer took 14 months. He will see a doctor and is reported to have several health problems resulting in his detainment in the Japanese prison. This is only the second transfer into the UK since the Prisoner Transfer Agreement was signed. Urgent Update 5 Dec 2003 - Chris Snell is suffering badly in Fucha prison. He is believed to have the onset of Frost bite on his feet. UPDATE AS OF 21/10/2003 - Chris Snell is in Funcha Prison now waat for his transfer back to the UK to go through. Click here to read more about Chris's case ....
Patric Loughlin's wrongful imprisonment
	Patrick Loughlin is a 33 year old British Citizen who I believe has been wrongly imprisoned in Japan and is currently subjected to horrific treatment. Click here to read more about Patrick's case .... E-mail us at: admin@freepatrick.org.uk Visit Website at: http://www.freepatrick.org.uk/ LATEST RELEASE PATRICK HAS BEEN RELEASED ... click here for article
Roberto Tokunaga (26):Brazilian laundry worker
	Roberto Tokunaga (26):Brazilian laundry worker, arrested in Nagano Prefecture in June 2000 for allegedly beating his daughter to death. Pronounced not guilty in May 2001 but later rearrested and held -- illegally, say supporters -- for ten months while prosecutors reworked his case. Tokyo High Court rejected earlier acquittal and sentenced Tokunaga on same evidence to five years in July 2002. Tokunaga claims his wife killed their daughter. Govinda Prasad Mainali (37; wife Radha): Nepalese waiter arrested for the murder of Yasuko Watanabe in Shibuya, March 1997. Tokyo District Court rejected circumstantial evidence and found Mainali not guilty in April 2000, but he was rearrested -- illegally say supporters -- on his way back to Nepal. Original verdict overturned by Tokyo High Court in 2001 and Mainali was sentenced to life on the same evidence. Appeal rejected by Supreme Court in October 2003. Supporters say the killer was likely to have been anoth er of Watanabe's clients. Click Here for recent news story....
Rosal Villanueva Manalili (31):Filipina
	Rosal Villanueva Manalili (31):Filipina currently serving an eight-year sentence here for allegedly stabbing her Japanese boyfriend to death in November 1997. Convicted mainly on the basis of a confession, made under duress and later retracted. Among the controversies of the case, defense evidence that might have supported Manalili's alibi was "lost" by the coroner. Supporters say the police, prosecutor and judge trampled on her right to a fair trial.
Moraga Reyes Alejandro Andres (23):Chilean engineer
	Moraga Reyes Alejandro Andres (23):Chilean engineer accused January 2002 of robbing a Tokyo recycling shop and stealing a car in a separate incident in Nagano Pref. Pronounced not guilty for lack of evidence by summary court in Nagano in May 2003 but again detained while prosecutors appealed to the Tokyo High Court in June. Currently locked up in Tokyo Detention House awaiting High Court decision.
Terrance David Sheard - Released from a Japanese Prison
	On Wednesday, 21 September 2005, Foreign Prisoner Support Services was contacted by US Citizen, Terrance David Sheard, recently released from a Japanese prison. Terrance has kindly written the following account of his ordeal in the hope that he may highlight the suffering of those he left behind. “I want to tell my story because I promised my mates back in the Fuchu hellhole [Japan Prison] that I would try to expose the abuses and cruel treatment experienced daily by all Fuchu inmates. Can you [FPSS] please help me? I owe it to all those who are suffering under the draconian prison system in Japan to tell my story!” Terrance wrote. Click Here for Terrance David Sheard's story
Quinton Pretorius - 6 years in Chiba Detention Centre
	Prisoner update : 9 Dec 2005 Born on the 30th of December 1978 (27 this year) The verdict was not favorable to Quinton Pretorius of South Africa detained in Chiba Detention Centre, Japan. The court found him guilty on drug related charges and sentenced him to six-years imprisonment plus a two million yen fine [US$18,000]. His lawyer will immediately appeal to the higher court in accordance with previous agreement with Quinton. FPSS would like to extend our sincerest support to Quinton's mother Elize in what is indeed a difficult ordeal. CHIBA DETENTION CENTRE - KAIZUKA-CHO 192 - WAKABA-KU - CHIBA-SHI - 264-8585 JAPAN

OTHER KNOWN FOREIGN PRISONERS IN JAPAN (not complete)
Name	Country	Sentence	Age	Building	Notes
Heidi Speilhagen	German	-	-	-	-
Lauren Shmall	South African	-	-	-	transfered to a Tokyo detention centre
Legrand Oliver	French	4 years	26 y/old as of 2004	-	-
Nick Baker	British	14 years	32	-	More on Nicks Case
Nils Taft	British	8 years hard labor	40 (as at June 2005)	Yet to be assigned	Arrested in possession of 250 grammes of amphetamines.
FPSS member Kath [New Zealand] has informed us that Nils Taft [UK] has been transferred from Fuchu Prison in Japan to Osaka prison on 9 September 2005. This means Nils will now come under the responsibility of the British Consulate-General in Osaka rather than Tokyo. Click here for more info and prison address.
Robert McCarty	-	7 years	-	-	Detained in Tokyo detention house - 1-35-1-A Kosuge, Katsushika, Tokyo 124-0001.
UPDATE: Sept 2004 - Roberts brother has just informed us that the Japanese have approved a transfer on 5-10-2004 and Washighton has approved the transfer on 8-10-2004 and also expressed thanks for all the support and updated information.
Samanther	South African	-	-	-	Chiba detention centre

PRISONS IN JAPAN
	Inside Fuchu Prison Japan ADDRESS Fuchu Prison, 4-10 Harumi-cho Fuchu-shi Tokyo Japan 183-0057 Surrounded by high walls, Fuchu prison in Tokyo is home to the largest foreign inmate population in Japan with 547 convicts from 48 countries, speaking 38 languages between them. NEWS: Foreign Inmates in Japan get a chance to go home Research on Fuchu: [Maps, transport links, geographical facts] Information: City of Fuchu Documentary: Philippe Couture presents 'JAPAN FROM INSIDE'. This is a revealing broadcast video and is the ONLY Independant Film ever shot inside a Japanese prison. For more information contact Philippe Couture at philippecouture@documen.tv-Web Link
	Chiba Detention Centre Chiba Detenntion Centre is known for its horrific conditions an human rights abuses. Chiba Detention Centre - Kaizuka-cho 192, Wakaba-ku Chiba-Shi 264-8585 Japan
	Tokyo Detention Centre "When you leave Tokyo Detention Centre you are not a human being. If you have a dog in your house you don't treat it like this....They do terrible things - I will never forget what they did to me as long as I live," said an Egyptian man who spoke to Amnesty International after his release. He described how prison guards stripped him naked, kicked him hard in the abdomen and sexually assaulted him with a truncheon, while he was held in solitary confinement. Tokyo Detention Centre - 1-35-1 Kosuge, Katsushika-ku. Tokyo. Japan. 124-0001
	Nagoya Prison While most prisons in Japan have cut down on punishments using the leather handcuffs, has reportedly increased their use from 53 cases last year to 148 this year. Amnesty International believes that the use of leather handcuffs and body belts in Japan has the same effect as a strait-jacket and must never be imposed as a punishment. Nagoya Prison has been highlighted in the media many times for human rights abuses, voilence by prison warders and has been reported as having as many as 160 inmate deaths in the past 190 years.
	Okayama Prison Okayama Prison is notorious for their guards, many of who have been charged ni the past with assaulting and injuring an inmates. This prison, like many others in Japan are used as a source of cheap labor and large parts of the prison are used for factory production.
	Takamatsu Prison Takamatsu Prison has been highlighted for its human rights abuses for many years. One man who was bold enough to speak out about the situation inside was bashed and restrained with leather manacles before being dragged off to a solitary confinement cell. He was left in the viciously tight restraints for about 26 1/2 hours. The picture on the right shows scars from the welts caused by manacles are shown in the side of the former prison inmate.
	Yokosuka Prison The prison, a four-hour train ride from central Tokyo, is a sprawling complex of aging, low-lying barracks and factories partially surrounded by huge canyon walls. Yokosuka Prison is said to have the largest population of American GI's outside of the US. Like prisoners in the United States, Japanese inmates can be punished for anything from attempting suicide to talking back to guards. But as punishment in Japan, they are separated from others for up to 60 days and made to sit motionless for 12 hours a day. Hirakawa said he believes this punishment, called chobatsu, is an effective tool that brings about remorse and educates prisoners. When pressed on how prisoners react to sitting motionless in a chair for up to two months -- do they scream, beg to be released, cry, meditate? -- Terutada Hirakawa, the warden of Yokosuka prison, answered that he has seen all reactions but stressed that most go into a meditative state. Yokosuka Prison - 3-12-3 Nagase Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0826 Japan Fax:81 468 46 1170 - Tel: 81 468 42 4977
	Osaka Prison A recent report commission by the House of Representatives Committee on Justice, has stated that large numbers of deaths had occurred in four of Japan's biggest prisons -- Nagoya, Fuchu, Osaka and Yokosuka -- and many of the fatalities had occurred under dubious circumstances. The committee gathered records on the roughly 1,600 inmates who have died in Japanese prisons over the past 10 years, at least 46 have perished in Osakaprison alone.
	Tochigi Prison Tochigi Prison is one of two imprisonment facilities in Japan for U.S. Forces personnel. The other is Yokosuka Prison. Address: Tochigi Prison - 2484 Soja-machi, Tochigi City, Tochigi 328-8550. Japan Reference Material Japan Government Criminal Justice Resources [Includes Foreign lawyer list, criminal procedures, Japanese law, prisons in Japan, medical care and access to prisons etc...] Japan and Human Rights Content - Click Here Logistic Regulations Click Here Jailed birds squawk over stuffed cells Woodland trial may spotlight flaws in Japanese criminal justice system

RESTRICTIONS FOR PRISONERS IN JAPAN
No postcards No letters with stickers No oversized envelopes No magazine cuttings or loose pages Photographs permitted Magazines permitted	Clothes permitted that are not tight, have strings or hats or scarves Letters should be printed neatly as each letter is translated and kept in a prisoner file. Try not to mention that you are strangers or have never met the prisoner. Information for Prison Inmates in Japan Including link to Downloadable PDF

WHAT YOU CAN DO

You can write to an inmate and send them a word of support or good cheer! You can send mail to Chiba Detention Centre at the following address.... Chiba Detention Centre Kaizuka-cho 192 Wakaba-ku Chiba-Shi 264-8585 Japan You can send mail to Tokyo Detention Centre at the following address.... Tokyo Detention Centre 1-35-1 Kosuge Katsushika-ku Tokyo. Japan. 124-0001 You can also send respectful letters requesting leniency and release to the following address; (Note: it is very important that your letters are respectful and moderate as it may effect the inmates chances of release in a negative manner, the culture of Japan is also one of respect and formality) The Honorable Daizo Nozawa Minister of Justice 1-1-1 Kasumigaseki Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8977 Fax Number: +81-3-3592-7393 Email: webmaster@moj.go.jp You can also send a comment to the Current Japanese Administration by clicking here.

Released from a Japanese Prison

On Wednesday, 21 September 2005, Foreign Prisoner Support Services was contacted by US Citizen, Terrance David Sheard, recently released from a Japanese prison. Terrance has kindly written the following account of his ordeal in the hope that he may highlight the suffering of those he left behind. "I want to tell my story because I promised my mates back in the Fuchu hellhole [Japan Prison] that I would try to expose the abuses and cruel treatment experienced daily by all Fuchu inmates. Can you [FPSS] please help me? I owe it to all those who are suffering under the draconian prison system in Japan to tell my story!" Terrance wrote. Click Here to read the whole story