Japan Requires Prison Officers to Display ID Numbers on Uniforms

Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Justice Ministry has begun requiring all prison officers to display newly assigned six-digit identification numbers on their uniforms, to prevent the mistreatment of inmates, such as the use of violence. Under the measure, ID numbers are issued to all staff at prisons and other detention facilities across the country. Officers are required to display their numbers above the rank badges on the right chest of their uniforms so that inmates can identify them. Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki issued a directive revising rules on clothing in March, and new uniforms with the ID numbers have been gradually introduced since April. Prison officers did not previously wear name tags, to avoid possible retaliation by inmates after their release. However, this made it difficult to identify officers involved in inappropriate behavior reported by inmates, hindering investigations and prevention measures. After officers at Nagoya Prison in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, were found to have repeatedly assaulted inmates in 2022, a third-party committee of outside experts proposed in June 2023 that an ID number system be introduced and that the Japanese prison system’s closed organizational culture be rectified. The number system is expected to help inmates report mistreatment without fear and encourage prison officers to clean up their act. In April 2024, the ministry introduced a rule to add “san” or “kun,” both Japanese honorific suffixes, when prison personnel call inmates’ names. This and the latest ID number system are part of efforts to improve conditions for prison inmates. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]