VOA慢速英语--日本拘留中心有许多人尚未定罪

Japan’s Detention¹ Center Holds Many Without Convictions

Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn recently was held in the Tokyo Detention House, which looks like a high-security prison. Most of its inmates³, however, are like Ghosn: they are being held there but have not been convicted of a crime.

Japan has a system that often refuses bail⁴ while suspects await trial. Law enforcement officials may hold suspects for months. Many international observers have criticized this system calling it, “hostage justice.”

International reporters got a rare tour of the plain, but orderly detention building on Monday. They were shown the floors that do not house detainees, or inmates.

Each cell is for one inmate². It has a toilet, bedding, a shelf and a sink. A window looks out into a small area of sky. Simple meals of rice and soup with a small piece of meat or fish are served out of a sliding window.

Ghosn spent more than 100 days at the detention center over several separate detention periods. He says he is innocent of financial crimes.

Currently, Ghosn is out awaiting trial. But 1,216 of the 1,758 current inmates have not been convicted. They are in prison and are awaiting trial.

A single cell measures 7.5 square meters. The tour also showed a small exercise area. Inmates can go there for just 30 minutes a day.

There is also a small store where visitors and inmates can buy snacks.

Many nations have bad detention conditions. In Thailand, for example, suspects can be held in chains as they wait for a trial.

Detentions⁵ can also be long in the United States, especially for people suspected of serious crimes such as terrorism. But generally, a person is considered innocent and has the right to have a lawyer present when they are questioned. A suspect is freed within 72 hours if there is no charge.

Suspects in Japan can be questioned by officials without a lawyer present. They can be held up to 23 days for each possible charge without the possibility of bail. Government lawyers can add charges to lengthen⁶ the detention.

The interrogation rooms where suspects are questioned were not shown during the tour.

Warden⁷ Shigeru Takenaka agreed conditions could be improved. But, he said that public opinion would not accept “fancy” conditions.

Those suspected of a crime are ostracized⁹ in Japan. The social shame means few people speak out against conditions in the center.

Those who do say they felt without hope at the Tokyo Detention House.

Yuji Hosono is a former representative partner at the financial company KPMG Japan. He was detained for 90 days after he was accused of faking financial records. He said he thought it would never end.

He was convicted after taking his case to the Supreme¹⁰ Court.

He said some workers at the Tokyo Detention House were nice. When going to be questioned, they told him to “hang in there.”

Foreigners make up 14% of those at the detention house. About one third of the inmates are from China, followed by Vietnam and South Korea. Americans make up 4% of the foreign inmates.

The most common charge is theft, followed by drug use.

Takenaka stressed that his inmates were safe, unlike American prisons where violence is common.

“They don’t have to defend themselves as in the West. They are protected,” he told reporters.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

inmate– n. a person who is kept in a prison or mental hospital

bail- n. the amount of money a person must pay to leave prison before a trial

tour– n. a journey through different parts of a place

snack– n.food eaten between meals

chain – n.a series of metal links used to keep a person from moving

interrogation–n. to ask someone questions in a thorough or forceful way

fancy – adj.luxurious¹¹, not common

ostracize⁸ – v.to isolate¹² someone because of their actions

shame – n.to be embarrassed by behavior

1 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

2 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

3 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

5 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

6 lengthen   

vt.使伸长，延长

参考例句：

• He asked the tailor to lengthen his coat.他请裁缝把他的外衣放长些。
• The teacher told her to lengthen her paper out.老师让她把论文加长。

7 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

8 ostracize   

v.放逐，排斥

参考例句：

• He was ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike.他因不支持罢工而受同事排斥。
• She claims she's being ostracized by some members of her local community.她声称受到当地社区一些人的排挤。

9 ostracized   

v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥

参考例句：

• He was ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike. 他因拒绝支持罢工而受到同事的排斥。
• The family were ostracized by the neighborhood. 邻居们都不理睬那一家人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

11 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

12 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。