Japan’s Volunteer Probation Officer System Attracts Overseas Attention; Japan Leading Way in Creating Intl Rules

By Masanori Yamashita / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

20:00 JST, April 23, 2025

A Japanese system in which volunteers take on the role of parole officers has been attracting growing attention overseas. Interest was sparked in the system, which has been shown to be effective in preventing recidivism, after an international conference held in Kyoto in 2021, and the Japanese government is now gearing up to export the system to countries in Asia and other regions.

Securing local volunteers and other issues remain as hurdles, but the government plans to work persistently and lead the way in creating international rules for offender rehabilitation and reintegration.

In Japan, volunteer probation officers engage in offender rehabilitation and reintegration activities. They help parolees and others who have committed crimes rehabilitate and reintegrate themselves into society by conducting interviews with them and providing advice on issues related to life, employment and other things. They are commissioned by the justice minister.

The International Day for Community Volunteers Supporting Offender Reintegration was created last year and marked for the first time on April 17.

On the day, an international meeting was held online, attended by representatives from five Asian countries including Japan. At the meeting, officials from Japanese government agencies that work with offenders, such as the Justice Ministry, reported the activities they engage in to rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders, and a representative from Indonesia stressed that their country intends to develop legislation on volunteer probation officers.

Prison overcrowding is a major issue in Indonesia, as the number of inmates in the country — said to be more than 270,000 — far exceeds the 140,000 combined capacity of all prisons. Among the Indonesian government’s measures to address the issue is a plan to rehabilitate paroled inmates at places other than prisons. To actualize the plan, the government needs to make up for a shortage of government officials and is reportedly considering recruiting volunteer probation officers like Japan to do so.

Malaysia faces the same issue as Indonesia and is also considering the system.

Japan’s Justice Ministry is providing support to the two countries. Since 2022, it has been assisting Malaysia with its offender rehabilitation and reintegration services. Meanwhile, in 2024, it launched negotiations with Indonesia to introduce the system there. The ministry has been dispatching officials to the countries to hold briefing sessions and other events where the officials can explain the significance of the system and provide the necessary expertise to local officials.

Taking the lead in rulemaking

The system came under the spotlight in 2021, when the U.N. Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, or the Kyoto Congress, was held in Kyoto. As part of the event, the World Congress for Community Volunteers Supporting Offender Reintegration (WCCV) was convened under the initiative of the Japanese government. The WCCV made “hogoshi,” a Japanese term for volunteer probation officers, widely known to the rest of the world.

The second WCCV was held in The Hague on April 17, 2024, and the day was designated as the annual “International Day for Community Volunteers Supporting Offender Reintegration.”

The United Nations by 2026 is expected to create international rules for such initiatives as offender rehabilitation and reintegration, which are aimed at reducing recidivism. Japan aims to take the lead in the discussions by citing the international recognition of its system of volunteer probation officers, according to a senior Justice Ministry official.

Training volunteers

Many issues stand in the way of establishing the system overseas, such as securing volunteers.

An early example of a country that imported the system is the Philippines, which did so in 1976. At first, the country had several thousand volunteer probation officers, but by 2002 the number had shrunk to less than 100. Such volunteers need knowledge of psychology and other expertise, but training sessions to equip them with those skills were not conducted. As a result, the volunteers were left without the knowledge they needed, leading them to lose their motivation to continue the work.

Japan’s Justice Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency started to support the Philippines in rebuilding the system in 2003 after receiving a request from the country. As a result of their support, which has included providing guidance to local government officials on how to train the volunteers, the number of volunteer probation officers in the country recovered and is currently sitting at about 6,900. The Philippines has now rolled out the system nationwide.

“The growing international recognition of the system will help increase Japan’s presence in areas other than offender rehabilitation and reintegration,” said Shoji Imafuku, a visiting professor of criminal policy at Chuo University. “In order to have the system established in other countries, it will be necessary to make their governments as well as their citizens understand the importance of the system, and Japan will need to provide continuous support while taking into account cultural differences.”

Shortage, aging

Meanwhile, in Japan, a shortage of volunteer probation officers is worsening. According to the ministry, there were 46,043 such volunteers as of January, below the required 52,500. The aging of the volunteers also has been pointed out as a problem, given that their average age is 65.4 years old.

In May 2024, a male volunteer probation officer was killed at his home in Otsu, and a male parolee, whom the volunteer was monitoring, was arrested and indicted for the murder and other charges. A survey conducted by the ministry after the incident found that about 20% of volunteer probation officers across the nation expressed concerns about continuing their activities, and many quit.

With the murder case in mind, an expert panel tasked with reviewing the system last autumn created a set of proposals to ensure the safety of the volunteers, including the recommendation that volunteer probation officers should conduct interviews with parolees in places other than their home.

The ministry has started to take measures in accordance with the proposals. The ministry has also made efforts to secure a sufficient number of the volunteers by eliminating the upper age limit of 66 years old for new volunteer probation officers in principle.