Fuchū Prison

Fuchū Prison (府中刑務所, Fuchū keimusho) is a prison in Japan.[1] It is located in the city of the Fuchū, Tokyo to the west of the center of Tokyo Metropolis.[2] Before the end of World War II, Fuchū prison held Communist leaders, members of banned religious sects, and leaders of the Korean independence movement.[3]

Fuchū Prison
Aerial photograph of Fuchū Prison
LocationFuchū, Tokyo, Japan
Coordinates35°41′3.6″N 139°28′26.3″E
Security classOperational
Capacity2842
Population2086 (as of December 2015)
Opened1935 (1935)
Managed byMinistry of Justice (Japan)

Fuchū Prison was opened in June 1935 after the need for a new and larger prison was determined by the Home Ministry in a review following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, during which Tokyo's main prison, Sugamo Prison was destroyed. During the pre-war period, the prison also housed many political prisoners as well as common criminals.

After the war, the prison was visited by Harold Isaac of Newsweek, French correspondent Robert Guillain, John K. Emmerson, E. Herbert Norman and[4][5] Domei reporter Tay Tateishi.[6]

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 22.6 ha (56 acres), and is surrounded by a 1.8 km (1.1 mi) wall with a height of 5.5 m (18 ft), 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.[7] The prison also contains numerous workshops for vocational training. Foreigners are incarcerated for various crimes but all in single cells in two or three blocks.

Notable inmates
Kim Chon-hae

See also

References
  1. Institute of Pacific Relations. Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate Eighty_Second Congress First Session On The Institute Of Pacific Relations Part 3 September 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 1951. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off. 1951. pp. 747–753.
  2. Takemae, Eiji (2003). Allied Occupation of Japan. A&C Black.
  3. "Japanese Policy "Based Upon Righteousness"". The Guardian. 10 October 1945.
  4. Institute of Pacific Relations. Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate Eighty_Second Congress First Session On The Institute Of Pacific Relations Part 3 September 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 1951. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off. 1951. pp. 747–753.
  5. Takemae, Eiji (2003). Allied Occupation of Japan. A&C Black.
  6. "JAPAN TO URGE TRADE OF SILK FOR VITAL FOOD To Ask Permission for Barter System; Communists Would Get Rid of Mikadoism". The Montreal Gazette. Oct 4, 1945.
  7. "Arrest of a US Person". Tokyo, Japan – Embassy of the United States.
  8. Takemae, Eiji (2003). Allied Occupation of Japan. A&C Black.
  9. Takemae, Eiji (2003). Allied Occupation of Japan. A&C Black.
  10. Takemae, Eiji (2003). Allied Occupation of Japan. A&C Black.
  11. 作家の安部譲二さん死去　「塀の中の懲りない面々」. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). September 8, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  12. https://www.pressreader.com/ireland/wexford-people/20180123/282132111866022

Further reading
  • Kyuichi Tokuda, Yoshio Shiga (1947). Eighteen Years in Prison. Jiji Press.


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