THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 19, 2022 at 16:50 JST
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau in the capital's Minato Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
An Italian man in his 50s was found dead in his cell, possibly from suicide, at a Tokyo detention center, authorities said.
The man’s death follows a recent high-profile case of a Sri Lankan women who died without receiving adequate medical care, triggering international condemnation over conditions at Japan’s immigration facilities in recent years.
Earlier this month, the U.N. Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the treatment of foreign nationals detained at immigration facilities and called on Japan to take steps to improve conditions.
The Immigration Services Agency announced Nov. 18 that the Italian man appeared to have died from electrocution and officials are looking into whether it was a suicide.
According to agency officials, the man was discovered collapsed on his cell floor around 7:20 a.m. on Nov. 18. Although cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted, the man was pronounced dead after being taken by ambulance to a hospital.
The man entered the detention facility on Oct. 25 and had a cell to himself. He did not have any life-threatening illnesses and facility staff making their rounds found him standing in his cell between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Nov. 18.
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