FOREIGNERS IN JAPANESE PRISONS - INMATE ADAPTATIONS AND PRISON ACCOMMODATIONS

Major movements of individuals across national boundaries increase chances for crimes by foreigners, some of whom become prisoners in societies in which they are both cultural strangers and social outcasts as prison inmates. Although they are relatively few when compared with the members of the host society who are imprisoned, their presence raises unusual difficulties for inmate adaptation and accommodations by the prison administration to their special needs and cultural preferences. This study examined the situation and accommodative reactions of the prison administration in Japan. There both the foreign inmates and the Correction Bureau encounter special difficulties in adjusting within the context of the regular operations of a prison system primarily tuned to managing inmates drawn from the host culture and society. © 1991.