Tokyo Detention House

Building in Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Detention House
東京拘置所
Map
LocationKatsushika, Tokyo, Japan 1-35-1
StatusIn operation
Capacity3010
Opened1879
Managed byMinistry of Justice (Japan), Tokyo correctional province
1989 aerial photograph of the correctional facility and its surroundings

The Tokyo Detention House (東京拘置所, Tōkyō Kōchisho) is a correctional facility in Katsushika, Tokyo.[1][2] The prison, which is operated by the Ministry of Justice, is one of seven detention centres that carry out executions in Japan. It is used to detain people awaiting trial, convicted felons and those sentenced to death. In April 2019, the Special Security Response Team, a tactical response unit, was established at the TDH.[3]

Execution chamber

Diagram of the three-button execution method

One of Japan's seven execution chambers is in this facility. All executions in Japan are carried out by hanging. The execution chamber in Tokyo has a trap door, which is operated by one of the three buttons in the next-door room, which are simultaneously pressed by three prison staff members so that none of them will know who activated the drop.[4]

Before entering the execution chamber, the condemned person passes a Buddhist statue of Kannon (観音), a bodhisattva associated with compassion.[4] The execution chamber has two sections, with both of them together no larger than a 15-tatami mat room.[2] When the execution happens, the body drops into a room below the execution chamber; it is in this room where death is confirmed.[5]

Notable prisoners

  • Carlos Ghosn[6]
  • Kiyoshi Miki[7]
  • Shoko Asahara (hanged 6 July 2018)[8]
  • Richard Sorge[9]
  • Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka[10][11]
  • Norio Nagayama (hanged 1 August 1997)
  • Tsutomu Miyazaki[12] (hanged on 17 June 2008)
  • Masahiro Kanagawa[13] (hanged 21 February 2013)
  • Seiichi Endo (hanged 6 July 2018)
  • Yukio Seki (hanged 26 November 1993)
  • Teruhiko Seki (hanged 19 December 2017)
  • Hideki Kanda (hanged 1 August 1997)
  • Toru Toyoda (hanged 26 July 2018)
  • Kenichi Hirose (hanged 26 July 2018)
  • Seiha Fujima (hanged 7 December 2007)
  • Mitsuo Yabe (hanged 30 September 1987)
  • Koichi Shoji (hanged 2 August 2019)
  • Yoshio Iwamoto (hanged 27 August 2007)
  • Tomohiro Katō (hanged 26 July 2022)

References

  1. ^ "Penal Institutions in Japan" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. August 27, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010. Text found in Google search says "(Front cover: Tokyo Detention House)"."
  2. ^ a b "Diet members tour execution chamber". The Japan Times. July 24, 2003. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  3. ^ "法務省：特別機動警備隊". Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Inside Japan's secret death chambers where prisoners are put to death". Daily Mirror. 6 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Japan reveals long-secretive execution process". CNN. August 27, 2010. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  6. ^ The Rise and Fall of Carlos Ghosn, NY Times, December 30, 2018
  7. ^ Eiji Takemae (1 January 2003). Allied Occupation of Japan. A&C Black. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-8264-1521-9.
  8. ^ "Aum Shinrikyo: Japan executes cult leader Shoko Asahara". BBC News. July 4, 2018. Shoko Asahara's execution, at a Tokyo detention house on Friday morning, was confirmed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
  9. ^ United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities (1951). Hearings on American Aspects of the Richard Sorge Spy Case: Based on Testimony of Mitsusada Yoshikawa and Maj. Gen. Charles A. Willoughby. Hearings. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 1148–1149.
  10. ^ "The World: Tanaka: Prisoner of 'Money Power'." Time. Monday August 9, 1976. Retrieved on August 29, 2010. "The spartan cell is no different from that of any ordinary inmate at the Tokyo House of Detention—"
  11. ^ Japan Quarterly. Asahi Shimbun. 1977. p. 128.
  12. ^ "AFP: Japan executes notorious cannibal killer". 2013-07-09. Archived from the original on 2013-07-09. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  13. ^ "Japan hangs three death row inmates". 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2019-03-22.

External links

  • Tokyo portal
  • flagJapan portal

Media related to Tokyo Detention House at Wikimedia Commons

  • 法務省矯正局 (in Japanese)
  • 東京拘置所 (in Japanese)
  • v
  • t
  • e
Districts
Mizumoto Area
  • Higashimizumoto
  • Minamimizumoto
  • Mizumoto
  • Mizumotokoen
  • Nishimizumoto
Kanamachi-Niijuku Area
Shibamata-Takasago Area
  • Hosoda
  • Kamakura
  • Shibamata
  • Takasago
Kameari-Aoto Area
  • Aoto
  • Kameari
  • Nishikameari
  • Shiratori
Minamiayase-Ohanajaya-Horikiri Area
  • Higashihorikiri
  • Horikiri
  • Kosuge
  • Ohanajaya
Tateishi-Yotsugi Area
  • Higashitateishi
  • Higashiyotsugi
  • Takaramachi
  • Tateishi
  • Yotsugi
Okudo-Shinkoiwa Area
  • Higashishinkoiwa
  • Nishishinkoiwa
  • Okudo
  • Shinkoiwa
Location of Katsushika in Tokyo
Major stations
LandmarksEducation
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • VIAF
National
  • United States
  • Japan

35°45′31″N 139°49′03″E / 35.75861°N 139.81750°E / 35.75861; 139.81750


Stub icon

This article about a Japanese building- or structure-related topic is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e
Stub icon

This prison-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e