The mechanics in green overalls and white hard hats tinkering with cars at a service garage in Fuchu city on the outskirts of western Tokyo make an honest living during the day but spend nights behind bars.

The facility has all the hallmarks of a regular garage but in fact is part of Fuchu Prison.

With 2,700 inmates, Fuchu Prison, which occupies a 260,000-square-meter site, is the nation’s largest correctional facility.

Aside from its obvious function, the prison’s mission is to encourage inmates to learn a skill that will enable them to earn a living after they are released, for example, as a car mechanic, crane operator, barber and so on.

A key aim of the training program is to reduce the recidivism rate among prisoners after they return to society.

These initiatives are expected to take on heightened importance with a 2022 revision to the Criminal Law that will take effect in June next year. 

The amendment of penal provisions, the first in 115 years, shifts the focus more on rehabilitation to prepare inmates for life on the outside after their release rather than the traditional notion of simply imposing punishment for criminal acts.

One of the mechanics at the prison garage is in his 40s and doing a 12-year stretch for robbery resulting in bodily injuries.

He, and three other inmates, passed the car mechanic certification exam in March. The man said he signed up for the program in the hope he will not have to struggle for work after his release.

“I believe I will cause less trouble for my future employer,” the man said, referring to his new skill.

The man lost his previous job over a salary dispute, but he did not dare tell his wife he had suddenly become unemployed.

He sounded out an acquaintance about work prospects, only to be asked to join a planned robbery. The man could not bring himself to turn it down after seeking help, making him an accomplice in the crime when it was carried out.

HIGH RECIDIVISM RATE

The Justice Ministry said in a white paper on crime that 70 percent of 8,180 repeat offenders who found themselves back in prison in 2022 were out of work at the time they committed their offenses.

Ex-convicts tend to commit crimes when they are unable to secure steady work following their release and run into financial difficulties, criminal experts say.

Fuchu Prison incarcerates many repeat offenders. About 70 percent of them were convicted of robbery or substance abuse on multiple occasions. Roughly 40 percent of the inmates have ties with gang groups.

To deter recidivism, prisons are now placing greater importance on courses where detainees can acquire a license or certification, as well as job-related knowledge and skills, to increase their chances of finding viable work once they regain their freedom.

Fuchu Prison started its automobile inspection training course more than 50 years ago.

Ten prisoners in their 30s to 50s, including the man in his 40s, currently participate in it.

Aside from auto safety inspections, training is provided for things like car washing, body repairs, paintwork and general car maintenance.

Fuchu Prison services more than 300 vehicles a year for clients from outside the prison. Many of them keep returning, according to prison officials.

The prison sets charges on the basis it cannot offer substitute vehicles and should not squeeze out private sector business rivals by undercutting them cost-wise.

Specialist officers for vocational training at prisons who have a proven track record work closely with the small group of inmates to teach not only mundane things like car interior cleaning but also how to apply rust-proof paint and the ins and outs of servicing a vehicle.

Around 100 kinds of certifications and job training courses are provided by prisons across the country, according to the ministry’s Correctional Bureau.

It said 6,491 licenses were obtained by inmates in fiscal 2022.

The Justice Ministry set aside about 440 million yen ($2.82 million) for the rehabilitation program for the current fiscal year.

Ensuring the effectiveness of the training courses so former convicts are not recycled into the prison system remains another challenge.

However, the ministry has shied away from aggressively trying to ascertain whether the training courses have really helped ex-cons to obtain employment, citing “the possibility that doing so could disrupt efforts to rebuild their lives.”

But after the revision to the Criminal Law, the ministry published a report in spring last year on the results of a study assessing the rehabilitation program in terms of gaining employment.

The survey covered inmates who had just completed their terms of probation after being released on parole in 2019.

It showed that 78.7 percent of those who completed job training courses found employment, 4.7 percentage points higher than for those who did not enroll in one.

The report said that more than 40 percent of inmates who finished civil engineering and construction-related courses secured jobs in their chosen field.

But the figure was less than 1 percent for enrollees of information processing and building equipment management courses.

The average rate for detainees who secured positions related to courses they took while in prison came to 17.5 percent.

In the report, the ministry concluded that job training courses contributed to the stable employment of former inmates by providing them with the sort of knowledge and techniques they would be expected to have in today’s working environment.

The ministry will consider doing a similar study if the need arises, an official said.

Chie Morihisa, a professor of criminology at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, said those who are released from prison without documented job skills unquestionably will find it harder to carve out a useful role to play in society.

She also speculated that many ex-convicts had to settle for jobs unrelated to their prison training due to the tough employment situation, referring to the low ratio of securing positions in the field they preferred.

Morihisa credited the prison rehabilitation programs for giving detainees an opportunity to experience working for a living and developing the motivation to keep going with a vision for their futures, given that most of them had little previous job experience.

She called for further assistance from the prison system so former prisoners can continue to hold on to their jobs.

“I believe the rehabilitation program also needs to teach prisoners how to better communicate with colleagues in the workplace and interact with other former inmates and those who had similar experiences so they can share their thoughts,” Morihisa added.