CAPACITY-BUILDING OF FEMALE CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS:FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ADMINISTRATION OF WOMEN’S
PRISONS IN JAPANMasako Natori *I.

INTRODUCTION

Correctional officers who work directly with inmates are the most important people forachieving the rehabilitation of offenders. Accordingly, we must establish working
environments where female officers are properly trained and developed; where they gain
professional knowledge and enhance their skills on the treatment of inmates; and where theywork positively and sustainably. Doing so will directly impact the treatment of female
inmates and will contribute to their successful rehabilitation.
II. CURRENT STATUS OF FEMALE INMATES, WOMEN’S PRISONSAND FEMALE CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS IN JAPANA. Number of Female Inmates and Offence Type in Japan
1. Number of Inmates

At the end of 2014, there were 52,860 sentenced inmates in Japan nationwide. Out of thatnumber, female inmates make up 8.3%. After rapidly increasing from 1993 to 2006, the total
number of female inmates generally remained flat, while the number of male inmates has
been decreasing in recent years. Currently, the population of female inmates is about 3 times
what it was in 1993.

*Director, Facilities Department, Ministry of Justice, Japan.

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Offence Types

This graph shows the offence types in 2013. Theft and Stimulants Control Act violations
totaled 80% of all offences committed by female offenders.
3.

Characteristics
Recently, the proportion of elderly inmates is increasing in Japan. Therefore, treatment
and reintegration of such inmates has become a great issue.
B. Women’s Prisons in Japan

There are 77 prisons in Japan nationwide. 10 are women’s prisons. Twenty years ago, weonly had 5 women’s prisons, but to respond to the increasing number of female inmates, wehave increased capacity to accommodate women. In 2013, the number of female inmates was
83% of their total capacity.
C. Female Correctional Officers in Japan
1. Number of Staff
There are 17,466 prison officers throughout Japan, and among them, only 1,419 arefemale, which make up 8% of all prison officers. In Japanese women’s prisons, about 90% ofprison officers are female.
2.

Recruitment
In Japan, all correctional officers start out as national government officials assigned to
the Ministry of Justice. Firstly, newly appointed officers attend a 3-month basic training
course at the Training Institute for Correctional Personnel, which is followed by 9 months ofon-site training.

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Promotion/Training
Those who wish to be promoted to a higher rank have opportunities to take the internal
promotion exam. After passing the exam, training for senior officials is provided. The
opportunities for promotion and participation in training programs are provided equally tomale and female officers. Those who are capable and motivated female officers are promoted
to leading positions, such as wardens or policy makers in the Ministry of Justice. However,since the number of female officers is still relatively low, we need to promote further
measures for the capacity building and expansion of job categories and positions of female
officers.
III. CHALLENGES FACING FEMALE CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS IN JAPANA.

Age Composition

About 50% of female correctional officers are in their twenties, and 25% are in theirthirties. This means that the majority of female correctional officers are from younger
generations.
B. Reasons Female Officers Quit Their Jobs Early
Why is the proportion of young female officers disproportionately high in Japan? This isbecause many female correctional officers do not continue their jobs after a few years. The
number of female officers who quit within 3 years after recruitment is two times higher thanthat of male officers.
Why do female officers quit their jobs so early? One of the reasons is that they prioritize
their private lives, such as marriage, child birth or raising children, over pursuing theircareers. However, more than that, the characteristics of working at correctional facilities,
such as long, irregular working hours or the burden of working with difficult inmates, puts alarge amount of stress on female officers. In other words, the job of a correctional officer is
not appealing to young women. The longer one continues to work as a correctional officer,
and the higher one gets promoted to senior positions, the substance and the quality of work
becomes more interesting and important, and to many, worthwhile and meaningful.
In addition, the skill of working with inmates is acquired through experience.
Rehabilitation of offenders is an important duty of the state. This duty cannot be dismissed as- 89 -menial work which can easily be performed by anyone. Therefore, supporting young andin-experienced officers, and reducing the number of young women who quit, is most crucial
for strengthening the entire correctional system.
IV. EFFORTS TO IMPROVE WOMEN’S PRISON CONDITIONS
A. The “Marguerite Action” Business Model for Women’s Prisons, Female Inmatesand Female Officers
In an effort to implement practical measures for both female officers and inmates, theinitiative called the “Marguerite action” business model was adopted in January 2014. The“Marguerite action” seeks to create a good working environment in women’s prisons,improve the treatment of female inmates, and encourage the long-term employment of femaleofficers. Therefore, this action includes various measures, such as:
・ Capacity building for female officers,
・ Reducing overcrowding of women prisons,・ Enhancing the entrustment of administration to the private sector,
・ Developing new educational programs and vocational training programs,・ Supporting measures for reducing repeat offences and smooth reintegration of female
inmates, and so on.
B. Capacity Building for Female Officers in the “Marguerite Action”
The following measures have been implemented in order to improve the working
environment and capacity building for female officers participating in the “Margueriteaction”:
・ Preparation of a new recruitment plan to increase the number of female officers,
・ Securing work-ready officers by promoting the re-employment of female officers
who have resigned, and other mid-career workers,
・ Improvement of training content for senior female officers,
・ Offering more opportunities for promotion into administrative positions to female
officers,
・ Expansion of job categories for female officers, including placement in male prisons,・ Enhancing the opportunity to exchange opinions and information among officers inwomen prisons, and,・ Promoting public relations actively and improving the public image of female
officers.
In addition to these measures, establishing flexible working hours taking into account theneeds of female officers, offering more vacation time as well as reducing overtime, andestablishing support systems for female officers with personal and professional concerns areessential.

- 90 -C. The Community Support Model Project for Women’s Prisons

The Community Support Model Project for women’s prisons launched in 2014 at three
women’s prisons in Japan. This project enables young officers to receive support and advice
from local experts such as nurses, midwives, caseworkers, job assistance workers and othercounselors in regards to female inmates’ health conditions, pregnancy matters, family mattersand reintegration into society. This project is assisted by well-known private groups andexperts on women’s welfare and medical care.
Although the project aims to improve the treatment of female inmates according to theirgender-specific needs, there are additional benefits, such as developing cooperative relations
between prisons and local communities and improvement of the knowledge and treatment
skills of young officers. By involving these private groups, female officers come to realize
the importance of work in women’s prisons. As a result, the project brings about a virtuous
cycle to enhance the pride and job satisfaction of female officers. Since it will be difficult toincrease the number of staff immediately, it is necessary to rely on the cooperation andsupport of private groups, such as welfare services, medical services, private companies, andvolunteers.
Recently in Japan, the Prime Minister is strongly promoting active roles for women insociety. In line with this policy, the Ministry of Justice has also commenced various measures
to support female officers. In order to address the increase of female inmates, we have
implemented various measures for the improvement of facilities and accommodations within
women’s prisons. In addition, in order to complement the disproportionate age compositionof female officers, we have fostered the involvement of the private sector and the cooperative
relationship between prisons and local experts.
Furthermore, from fiscal year 2015 to 2018, we are aiming to decrease the turnover rateof female officers by half and improve the working environments of women’s prisons. This
will enable female officers to work with responsibility and pride. In addition, we are planningto implement comprehensive measures such as deploying 200 female officers, taking
practical measures to reduce the burden of female officers’ work, and providing detailed
support systems for young female officers.

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The improvement of the working environments in women’s prisons largely impacts theimprovement of inmate treatment. Furthermore, improving women’s prisons, which are theminority of Japan’s prisons, will gradually impact the Japanese prison system as a whole.
Japan’s Correction Bureau is committed to continuing its efforts to improve the environmentof women’s prisons, to improve the treatment of female inmates and to improve thedevelopment of female correctional officers, through joint efforts by government, individualspecialists and citizens.

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