1.
imprisonment, penal servitude
A criminal sentence of confinement in prison with mandatory labor. Abolished in June 2025, when it was merged with 禁錮 into 拘禁刑.
Usage
懲役 was imprisonment with mandatory labor, as distinct from 禁錮 (imprisonment without labor). In June 2025 both were replaced by a single sentence, 拘禁刑. 懲役 still appears in judgments handed down before then, in reporting on older cases, and in everyday speech.
懲役3年、執行猶予5年 meant a three-year term suspended for five years: the person does not go to prison unless they commit another offense during that period.
Common collocations
- 懲役〜年 (~ years' imprisonment)
- 懲役刑 (prison sentence)
- 実刑 (actual prison time, as opposed to a suspended sentence)
- 執行猶予付き (with suspended execution)