Conditions and Treatment in Juvenile Prisons: A Comparative Analysis of Japanese and American Standards of Juvenile Prisons and Rehabilitation

• Author: Michelle Dennis Mazzuoli
• Pages: 189-220

e Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law

ISSN: 2338-7602; E-ISSN: 2338-770X

http://www.ijil.org

© 2021 e Institute for Migrant Rights Press

e author gratefully acknowledges all the Professors and Deans who have assisted her

in journey during law school as well as during her legal and academic career. She also

thanks Geovanni J. Denis for his continued support and his inspiring legal career as

one of the best attorneys she has had the pleasure of knowing.

Conditions and trEatMEnt within

JuvEnilE prisons

a Comparative of Japanese and ameriCan

standards for JuveniLe prisons and rehabiLitation

Michelle Denis

Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law

the University of Florida Levin College of Law

E-mail: mr1895@nova.edu

e purpose of this article is to expose the dierence of juvenile prison condi-

tions and treatment between the United States and Japan. e inspiration for

this article stems from a conversation with a law student who spent a semester

abroad in Japan. When asked about the biggest dierence he encountered be-

tween American and Japanese culture, his response focused on the treatment

of juveniles. e student found that the Japanese culture focused on kindness,

support and assistance for juveniles, whether it was amongst peers, adults or

individuals in leadership positions. Additionally, he was able to visit a Japanese

Reform School which houses sentenced juveniles. He explained that the school’s

purpose of providing the attention that the juveniles never received at home

or school which includes a mix of education, discipline and chores, with team

sports to emphasize group responsibility. e student emphasized the dierence

between Japan’s approach to rehabilitation as opposed to America’s approach

to punishment. is article will conclude with an analysis on how U.S. juve-

nile prisons can implement Japanese laws to improve conditions and treatment

which will better facilitate rehabilitation.

VIII Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law 189-220 (April 2021)

190

Denis

INTRODUCTION

Children have long been considered innocent individuals who are in

need of protection and safety. e moral obligation to protect chil-

dren also applied to juvenile delinquents. As juvenile delinquency was

becoming more prominent, the issue on how to discipline these de-

linquents arose. While it was deemed necessary to impose a form of

punishment on children who have engaged in criminal conduct, society

still viewed these oenders as children who have a high potential to

be rehabilitated. When the Juvenile Justice System was enacted in the

late 1800s, the focus of the system was to rehabilitate young oend-

ers with proper instruction and disciplinary guidelines rather than to

focus on retribution and deterrence. However, as the rate of juvenile

delinquents began to rise over time, the focus of the Juvenile Justice

System turned from rehabilitation to punishment. With a renewed

focus on punishment, juvenile oenders were being treated as hard-

ened criminals. As the focus on rehabilitation began to deteriorate, so

did prison conditions and treatment. Over time, reports of inhumane

conditions and treatment began to rise. Reports consisted of juvenile

inmates being deprived of food, overcrowded cells, sexual and physi-

cal assault committed by sta members and fellow prisoners, as well

as denial of medical and educational needs.1With the rising issue of

inhumane prison conditions and treatment, political talk of reforming

juvenile prisons became a reoccurring discussion. Congress enacted

several laws to protect prisoner’s rights while incarcerated such as the

Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). While Congress

has made strides with laws such as CRIPA, the amount of juvenile pris-

ons in the United States that failed to meet satisfactory standards have

become overwhelming.

In contrast, Japanese juvenile prisons are known for good conditions

and treatment of juvenile oenders. Japanese laws, originally modeled

aer American juvenile laws, retained a focus on rehabilitating juvenile

oenders. Japanese society has not forgotten that juvenile prisoners are

1. Douglas E. Abrams, Reforming Juvenile Delinquency Treatment to Enhance

Rehabilitation, Personal Accountability, and Public Safety, 84 O. L. R.

1001 (2005), available at https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/

orglr84&i=1011 (last visited June 23, 2021).

191

Conditions and Treatment within Juvenile Prisons

Denis

still children that are in need of protection and safety, regardless of

the crime that was committed. Due to Japan’s focus on rehabilitating

juvenile criminals, prisons are kept in good condition with the

notion that good prison conditions will facilitate the rehabilitation

process better. Additionally, proper treatment of juvenile inmates is

also believed to help with the rehabilitation process. Japan’s focus on

rehabilitation is implemented throughout their juvenile law called

Japanese Juvenile Law (Shonenho). Like America’s CRIPA, Shonenho

protects the rights of juvenile inmates while incarcerated. However,

Shonenho emphasizes protection and rehabilitation of juveniles and

rehabilitation is implemented with proper prison conditions and

treatment.

e purpose of this article is to expose the dierence of juvenile

prison conditions and treatment between the United States and Japan.

Part II will discuss the beginning of the U.S. juvenile jail and the shiing

from rehabilitation to punishment. It will further discuss modern day

media reports of inhumane conditions and treatment in juvenile jails.

Additionally, the correlation between budget cuts and conditions of

juvenile jails will be investigated. Part III will discuss Japanese juvenile

jail history and its continuing focus on rehabilitation. Additionally,

modern day events of conditions and treatment of juvenile jails will be

discussed. Part IV will investigate American laws regarding the rights

of incarcerated juvenile inmates and the proper standard for living

conditions and treatment. e Eighth Amendment and CRIPA are

two major laws that have been used as a forefront for lawsuits against

prisons that are holding prisoners in unsatisfactory conditions. Part V

will focus on the Japanese laws Shonenho and Law Concerning Penal

and Detention Facilities and e Treatment of Inmates (Prison Law)

which protects juvenile inmates from squalid conditions and barbaric

treatment. is article will conclude with an analysis on how U.S.

juvenile prisons can implement Japanese laws to improve conditions

and treatment which will better facilitate rehabilitation.