Photo/Illutration The inside of a Japanese prison (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

New Criminal Law provisions were enacted on June 1 that place greater emphasis on rehabilitation of prisoners rather than punishment.

And, to accommodate the wide range of characteristics of those incarcerated, 24 correctional processes will be set up to provide different levels of support for elderly prisoners and those with disabilities.

Labor-related workloads for such individuals may be reduced to provide more time for guidance and rehabilitation.

The new penal guidelines will be applied to crimes that take place after June 1, but the 24 processes will be used to help those already in prison.

A major goal of the changes is to reduce the recidivism rate.

While the number of crimes has been gradually decreasing, about 50 percent of those detained by police have committed crimes in the past.

That figure has remained largely unchanged in recent years and individuals sent back to prison account for between 55 and 60 percent of all newly sentenced inmates.

According to a correctional statistics annual, there were about 14,000 prisoners in 2023 and senior citizens made up a record 14.3 percent of that number.

Such numbers led to the belief that a more diverse menu of correctional programs was needed to match the changing characteristics of the prison population.

For those who are not elderly or have no disabilities, correctional measures will take into consideration their age, the length of their sentence, the risk of recidivism and how willing the inmate is to undertake such programs.

To improve the chances of rehabilitation, prison workloads will be adjusted to allow each prisoner more time to engage in activities, such as studying, intended to help them return to society without the fear of turning to crime again.

Related News