Fuchū Prison, Correctional facility in Fuchū, Japan
Fuchū Prison occupies roughly 23 hectares and is surrounded by a wall that stretches over a kilometer and rises more than five meters high. The complex includes four separate cell blocks, each designated for different categories of inmates, with foreign prisoners housed in individual cells in a dedicated wing.
Japanese authorities built the prison in June 1935 after Sugamo was destroyed in the 1923 earthquake. The facility has since been expanded and modified to meet the growing needs of the national corrections system.
The facility is the only prison in Japan that houses exclusively male inmates, with a clear separation between local and foreign prisoners across different cell blocks. Rules require all inmates to remain silent during meals and work hours, reflecting the Japanese emphasis on discipline and communal order in public institutions.
The facility is not open to the public and can only be viewed from the outside, with the tall walls blocking any view of the interior. Visitors interested in the Japanese justice system can find a small museum in Fuchū city with information on corrections history.
Cells for foreign inmates measure roughly ten square meters, which is larger than in most other Japanese prisons. The facility operates several workshops where inmates learn trades ranging from carpentry to industrial sewing, providing skills they can use after release.
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