I have told you about "JONO-Medical Prison" case, when I met you in Tokyo. I have heard from the Japanese Journalist that the hunam rights commitee of the FUKUOKA BAR ASSOCIATION offer the critical decision against the prison authority, wchich ignore the violation of the inmate's human rights and the chif personal who supported the violent male nurse. Additionally, that report suggested that the attorny agency in KOKURA ignored intentionally that ill-treated case.

I would like to send my manuscript concerning to JONO-case which I have offerd to Ms.Jahna Woshuller, Human Rights Watch Asian Prison Section. I am looking forward to seeingyou in London,too.

Withe renewed thanks und best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Prof.ISHIZUKA Shinichi (Gestprofessor Goettingen)

"The Violent Male Nurse in JONO Medical Prison"

～He Committed a Abuse of authority by special public officer resulting in death ?～

(Tokyu, 10.March 1995, ISHIZUKA, Shinichi)

Jan.17.1995 is the day which we, Japanese, will never be able to forget. One can not help remembering the tragic catastrophe in Kobe. Of course, it was the day when more than five thousand people were pressd down and burned out to death. But it was the day when we heard of another misery that a 47-year-old male inmate at the "JONO" medical prison in Kitakyushu had died one day after he was treated violently by the prison official.

It was found out by one journalist. The affair had been hidden intentionally by the prison authority, the prosecutors'office and the summary court judge. She had searched into the matter which other journalists had given up before the thick prison wall and closed doors.

After the reveal of the scandal, I asked the Kokura branch of the prosecutor's office, under the "Finalized Criminal Suit Document Law", to see the document on the summary court files and on the pre-trial investigation. After the close reading of the documents, I found out a lot of unbeliebable facts. It was an intentional unlawful act, and was also one example of the structural problems involving the rights of inmates in Japan.

I'would like to make some proposals as follows:: 1. We have to scrutinize the matters and reveal all the problems on the violent system in JONO medical prison. We must request the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution to review the case, and the Japanese Bar Association to relieve the human rights.; 2. We require the new prison law, which is different from the "The Penal Institution Bill" by the Ministry of Justice in Japan, to realize the modernization, humanization and legalization of Japanese prison system. Especially the new law ought to establish the prison supervising system which is independent of each prison, and make constructive recomendations to the respective prisons in order to guarantee the freedoms and rights of inmates and to support their rehabilitaion. It is the fatal defect in the Bill that it hasno sufficient prescriptions concerning to the treatment of psychologically disordered inmates. The new law ought to place the treatment of medical prisons in the context of developing medical care, and to normalize it as much as possible.; 3. We propose that the JONO medical prison, which was bilt originally in 1921 ( 74 years before !), is reconstructed as soon as possible. The new prison should meet the recent normal medical standards, and the rehabilitative treament should be planned not only from the mentalhygienic point of view, but also from the psychological, pedagogical, sociological and judicial point of view, so that it could be a comprehensive rehabilitative care centure. In addition, the planning process must be democratic, not in secrecy. The institute ought to open to the community and associate with supporters und volunteers.

cf. Nurse fired for violence in '92 death of inmate

(Jan.17.1995 Japan Times)