World Prisons
All countries

Asia · Eastern Asia

Japan

High confidence
Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 1 Jan 2025
Fresh · 1mo ago

Lowest incarceration rate among G7. Population has declined ~40% since the 2006 peak.

Compare JapanWorld Prison Brief page

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

Prison population

34,724

Year: 2025

Rate per 100,000

28

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

47.3%

At or under capacity

Pre-trial / remand

18.7%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

8.9%

Foreign nationals

6.9%

Conditions risk — across 213 facilities

Average of our computed Conditions Risk Score across the country's facilities. Methodology · Browse highest-risk

10/100
national average
2 low211 unknown
retentionist on capital punishment. Last known execution: 2022.Methods: hangingICCPR-OP2 (death-penalty abolition protocol): not a signatory

Seeded from Amnesty International 2024 categorisation + Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide.

Executions by year (Amnesty International)
  • 2019
    3
  • 2020
    0
  • 2021
    3
  • 2022
    1
  • 2023
    0
  • 2024
    0
Source: Amnesty International + Cornell Death Penalty Worldwide.
2 documented human-rights cases →

How Japan compares

vs Asia (16) & global averages
Rate per 100,000this: 28 · region: 173 · global: 214
Occupancy ratethis: 47% · region: 157% · global: 125%
Pre-trial sharethis: 19% · region: 34% · global: 32%

The vertical ticks mark the global (grey) and regional (amber) means. Bars are clipped at the high end for readability.

Prison population over time

Annual figures, latest survey year
2000: 61,242-34.4% over 23y2023: 40,178

Source: World Prison Brief / unodc

Reform in Japan

All reform →

Laws, programmes, and pilots changing how Japan incarcerates — plus relevant research.

  • Daiyo Kangoku (substitute detention) reform debate2019

    pre trial detention · proposed

    Japan's daiyo kangoku system allows police to hold suspects in police cells (rather than in remand prisons) for up to 23 days before charge, with limited access to defence counsel. Human-rights bodies — including the UN Human Rights Committee and CAT — have repeatedly called for abolition.

Prisons in Japan

Browse all 213 →

213 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Abashiri Prison

Japan · 網走市

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Ai Zhi Shao Nian Yuan

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Akita Prison

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Aoba Juvenile Training School for Girls

Japan · 仙台市

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Aomori Prison

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Asahikawa Prison

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

asahiShe Hui Fu Gui Cu Jin senta-

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Ba Jie Shao Nian Yuan

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bai Ming Shou Rong Suo

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bandō prisoner-of-war camp

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bei Hai Shao Nian Yuan

Japan · 千歳市

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bei Jiu Zhou Yi Liao Xing Wu Suo

Japan · 北九州市

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bo Mo Xue Yuan

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Brig

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Chang Qi Xing Wu Suo

Japan · 諫早市

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Chang Ye Xing Wu Suo

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Changikamp

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Chiba Prison

Japan · 千葉市

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Chikushi Juvenile Training School for Girls

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Chong Nawa Xing Wu Suo Ba Zhong Shan Xing Wu Zhi Suo

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Chuan Lu Xing Wu Suo

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Da Ban Xing Wu Suo

Japan · 堺市

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Da Fen Xing Wu Suo

Japan · 大分市

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Dai Guang Xing Wu Suo

Japan

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 213 prisons in Japan →

Data completeness

100%

Score based on how many fields are populated. We surface this so you know where the gaps are.

National population
123,360,0002025
Source-verified
20 May 2026
Source links
2 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
JPN