Japan - November 2023

Human Rights Watch released a report on 14 November documenting serious human rights abuses in women’s prisons in Japan. Violations include mistreatment of transgender people, inadequate access to medical services, separation of women from their babies, and arbitrary solitary confinement measures as a form of punishment. Rights advocates have urged the government to improve conditions in Japanese prisons as well as consider legal and justice reforms to prevent imprisonment in the first place. These reforms include decriminalizing simple drug-related violations and introducing alternative sentencing methods to the country's penal code, such as community service. In a broader discussion of Japan’s “hostage justice” system, the Japanese National Diet (parliament) engaged in a hearing of activist voices on 10 November, a move which activists hope will pave the way for wider reforms.

Sources: Japan Times, Human Rights Watch (1), Deutsche Welle, Human Rights Watch (2)