無期懲役(むきちょうえき)

むきちょうえき
noun
life imprisonment; indeterminate imprisonment
formallaw
1. life imprisonment; indeterminate imprisonment
A prison sentence with no fixed end date, the most severe punishment in Japan short of the death penalty.
被告(ひこく)は無期懲役(むきちょうえき)を言(い)い渡(わた)された。
The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment.
検察(けんさつ)は無期懲役(むきちょうえき)を求刑(きゅうけい)した。
The prosecution demanded life imprisonment.
死刑(しけい)か無期懲役(むきちょうえき)かが争点(そうてん)となった裁判(さいばん)だった。
It was a trial where the issue was whether the sentence would be death or life imprisonment.

Composed of 無期(むき) (indefinite, no fixed term) + 懲役(ちょうえき) (imprisonment with hard labor). In Japan, 無期懲役(むきちょうえき) does not necessarily mean spending the rest of one's life in prison — parole is theoretically possible after serving at least 10 years, though in practice most serve 25-30 years or more before parole consideration.

Common collocations

  • 無期懲役(むきちょうえき)を言(い)い渡(わた)す: to hand down a life sentence
  • 無期懲役(むきちょうえき)を求刑(きゅうけい)する: to demand life imprisonment
  • 無期懲役(むきちょうえき)の判決(はんけつ): a life imprisonment verdict
  • 無期懲役(むきちょうえき)囚(しゅう): a life prisoner

Similar words

  • 有期懲役(ゆうきちょうえき): fixed-term imprisonment — has a defined sentence length, contrasting with the indefinite nature of 無期懲役(むきちょうえき)
  • 死刑(しけい): death penalty — the only heavier sentence in the Japanese penal system
  • 終身刑(しゅうしんけい): life sentence without parole — does not exist in current Japanese law but is sometimes used when discussing foreign legal systems

Related Words

Compare: 有期(ゆうき)懲役(ちょうえき) (fixed-term imprisonment)
Compare: 死刑(しけい) (death penalty)
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Added 2026.4.7 10:00 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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