"Prison Libraries" in Japan: The Current Situation of Access to Books and Reading in Correctional Institutions

This article discusses the present state of access to books and other reading materials for inmates in Japan’s correctional facilities. While no professionally managed libraries are provided at these facilities— which explains why the term Prison Libraries in the title of this article is placed in quotation marks—incarcerated persons have the opportunity to obtain personal books, magazines, and newspapers through purchase or gifts. The prison administration also provides a certain number of reading materials at various locations within the institution. These materials, however, are inadequate and do not meet the needs of the offenders. The author discusses the legal framework that specifies the right of prisoners to read and obtain information, as well as the limits imposed on this access. The article contains information obtained by the author from a recent survey of seven correctional facilities. The author includes recommendations made by various advocacy groups, including the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, for improvement of the “prison library” situation and concludes with several of his own proposals to establish professionally operated prison libraries, to develop better collections, and to enhance cooperation between correctional facilities and public libraries. Introduction In 1985, this author visited twenty-six prison libraries in the United States. During 1995 and 2008, he also visited seven prison libraries in the United Kingdom. These visits were most informative and provided helpful data for a comparison with the prison library situation in Japan, which is very different. Japanese prisons do not employ professional librarians and,