On July 25, 2022, the Fukuoka District Court sentenced a juvenile (15 at the time) who killed a woman (21 at the time) at a shopping facility in Fukuoka City in 2020 to a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years, stating that rehabilitation would be difficult. Since neither the juvenile nor the prosecution appealed and the sentence was finalized, the juvenile will be sent to a juvenile prison. While juvenile training schools, which provide protective measures, are facilities that primarily provide education for social reintegration, juvenile prisons are facilities whose primary purpose is punishment. There is only one juvenile prison in Kyushu, located in Saga City. TNC interviewed the current state of juvenile prisons, which continue to struggle between punishment and rehabilitation. ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊ <Waking up at 6:35 a.m.> A hectic morning began for the inmates. The futons are neatly arranged with the corners even, and even the placement of the fans is decided. ◆Prison officers call each room: "Room number 8!" "1, 2, 3, 4!" <7:00 a.m. Breakfast> The breakfast that the prisoners devour is a bowl of barley rice, miso soup, and a few side dishes. The total cost of meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is set at 420 yen. <Medication after meals> Prison officers distribute medicine to each room. The prisoners move to separate rooms. <7:50 a.m. Prison work begins> ◆Prison work room Check calls: "Earplugs!" "Earplugs!" "Mask!" "Mask!" "Get on!" "All right!" Third factory Prison work. The wooden boxes that the prisoners make here are sold for 1,700 yen. They say they are popular. This is the "Saga Juvenile Prison" in Saga City. Of the six juvenile prisons in Japan, this is the only one in Kyushu. However, although it is supposed to be a juvenile prison, it is filled with adult inmates. There are no juveniles to be seen. Looking at the inmates at Saga Juvenile Prison by age (as of April 1), over 70% are 26 years old or older, and only 0.3% are minors. (From the official announcement of Saga Juvenile Prison) In recent years, emphasis has been placed on "rehabilitation" for juveniles who have committed crimes, and the number of people entering prison has become extremely small. ◆Shinji Hosoi, Senior Chief Correctional Treatment Officer at Saga Juvenile Prison "We make juvenile inmates perform prison work for punishment just like adult inmates. There, we make them think deeply about the gravity and responsibility of their crimes, and awaken their desire to return to society. (Only for juvenile inmates) We treat them more generously than general adult inmates, such as diary guidance and individual guidance." ◆March call Just because it is a prison that can accommodate juveniles, does not mean that discipline is lax. ◆Prison officer: "Hey! Come here! Look behind you! Touch me! What's with that outfit?" ◆Inmate: "I'm sorry." He lives a tough life and faces the crimes he has committed. ◆Possession of marijuana, 1 year in prison Inmate (36) "I've been using marijuana since I was 19 years old. There were times when I thought about quitting, but I just dragged it on and it ended up getting to this point. I'm going to work hard to put the brakes on myself." However, the reality is not so sweet. In recent years, coupled with the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the recidivism rate has been on the rise, reaching a record high of 49.1% in 2020. In fact, one in two people will return to prison even after being released. What should we do to prevent recidivism? There was a "special room" at Saga Juvenile Prison. ◆Warm-up exercises for the barber class This is training for the "barber class" where you get a barber's license. Instead of prison work, inmates spend two years working hard to obtain a barber's license. Meanwhile, in this room lined with computers, the goal is to obtain the national qualification "Basic Information Processing Engineer," which is said to be the gateway to becoming an IT engineer. ◆Inmate: "Are you just talking about the number of elements?" ◆Senior inmate: "Yes, the number of elements." ◆Inmate: "There's no such thing as a zero?" There is also a scene where a senior inmate with a long learning experience answers a question from another inmate. Saga Juvenile Prison is designated as a "comprehensive vocational training facility," one of only seven in the country, and inmates can receive 11 vocational training courses based on their "willingness to rehabilitate" and "ability." By obtaining qualifications, the aim is to create an environment in which they can work immediately after release. Saga Juvenile Prison also provides rehabilitation guidance to inmates with drug addiction or sexual offenses who are likely to reoffend. Special permission was given to film this guidance. <Continued from Current State of Juvenile Prisons (2)>