Open Prison in Japan Not to Adopt GPS Devices for Inmates

June 15, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Justice Ministry said Friday it has decided not to introduce Global Positioning System-based tracking devices for inmates at an open prison facility in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, western Japan.

It is inappropriate to attach GPS devices to inmates in the facility, known as a prison without walls, the ministry said in a report on preventive measures drawn up after the escape of a male prisoner from a shipyard workplace of the prison in April.

The man, Tatsuma Hirao, was arrested in late April after three weeks on the run. He told police that he had fled because he had trouble getting along with other people at the facility.

The ministry also decided to scrap an inmate self-governing association at the shipyard workplace for model inmates, located in a commercial shipyard. The association was created for educational purposes.

In the report, the ministry said hierarchical relationships were established among association members, adding that the association also lacked proper involvement by facility staff. Jiji Press