Justice minister is responsible for cover-ups of inmates' death under violence

It was recently revealed that three inmates died in the Nagoya Prison from December 2001 to September 2002 as a result of the violence by the prison governor and other officers.

The prisoners were exposed to high-pressure water discharged from fire-fighter's hoses or tightly bound with leather handcuffs which deprived them of any motion of the limbs. Such violence illustrates Japanese prisons' contempt for the human rights of inmates, a remnant of feudalism.

The Justice Ministry, however, has accepted the prison report that they died from self-inflicted wounds and heart failure, and it has not examined the case.

A system of direct petition to the justice minister exists by which inmates can write letters to the minister, complaining about their being mistreated by prison governors and other officers. In fact, the Justice Ministry receives about 3,000 such letters every year.

However, Justice Minister Moriyama Mayumi read the letters for the first time on the day before the issue came under intensive discussion at the House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting on February 21.

Kijima Hideo, Japanese Communist Party Lower House member, severely criticized the Justice Ministry for having kept for many years the inmates' letters from the justice minister.

Kijima emphatically said, "The system of direct appeal is the last resort for inmates to defend their lives. They have the right to get the justice minister to directly hear about the atrocity of their prison governors and other officers. The justice minister has the responsibility to personally read their letters of appeal."

Through the discussion in the parliament, it has become clear that the Justice Ministry systematically covered up the serious incidents, and the justice minister has allowed the cover-ups, both revealing their contempt for human rights. (end)