7 Transfer of sentenced persons

The Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons was adopted by the Council of Europe in 1983 that provides for the establishment of a system to transfer sentenced foreign nationals to their home country to serve their sentences there. In 2003 Japan acceded to the convention, with the Act on the Transnational Transfer of Sentenced Persons (Act No. 66 of 2002) then being enforced as its implementing legislation. In Asia the Republic of Korea too acceded to the convention in 2005, thus making it possible to transfer sentenced persons between Japan and the Republic of Korea. In 2009, 35 sentenced persons were transferred from Japan, with by nationality nine being of the Netherlands, six of the Republic of Korea, five of the U.S.A., four of the U.K., three of Germany, two each of Israel, Portugal, and Canada, and one each of Norway and Spain. By type of offense 28 were for drug offenses, five for robbery, and one each for arson and Immigration Control Act violation (for persons involved in multiple offenses the offense with the most severe statutory penalty is counted). None were transferred to Japan in 2009 (Source: The Correction Bureau, Ministry of Justice).

As for the countries which are not parties to the Convention, in order to enable transfer of sentenced persons, the Treaty between Japan and the Kingdom of Thailand on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and on Co-operation in the Enforcement of Sentences (Treaty No. 7 of 2010) came into force on August 28, 2010 and in addition Japan and China have been negotiating the conclusion of a treaty concerning the transfer of sentenced persons.