Yuki Goto Reveals “Life in Prison Too Bad” and the Vow He Made on the Day of Release

Yuki Goto has published a book titled “Outlaw Philosophy (Rules): How to Struggle through Life without Rails. The editor in charge of the book, and former editor-in-chief of FRIDAY, revealed the notebook that Yuki Goto kept writing while in prison. I would like to explain why I was put in charge of his book. I will also release Yuki Goto’s diary from the day he was released from prison.”

I wrote in my previous article that FRIDAY, of which I was the editor-in-chief at the time, reported Yuki Goto’s scandalous photos just before he was banned from the entertainment industry and arrested for robbery and assault.

While I was editor-in-chief of FRIDAY, I was always next to trouble, but now that I am older and have moved to a different publishing company, I have been meeting with various acquaintances at a more relaxed pace than before.

This year, I had the opportunity to get acquainted with Yuki Goto’s recent office. Three years ago, I went to Koyasan (Mt. Koya) for a summer vacation and happened to meet Ms. Ieda, who was giving a sermon. I happened to be able to meet Mr. Ieda, who was preaching. Mr. Ieda is an ordained Buddhist priest.

Mr. Ieda belongs to the same office where Yuki Goto is currently working.

I had been curious about him for a long time. Over a long period of time, that connection came around. When I told him through his office that I wanted to write a book about his life, he agreed to publish it.

The first time I met Yuki Goto, he did not have the grim look on his face that he had just before his arrest. He was also ridiculously polite in his speech, to the point that we were afraid to speak to him.

I also watched his recent videos on YouTube, and he seemed to have a good relationship with his wife, Chizuru, whom he joined in 2015 and who lays the foundation for the environment he now enjoys.

Still, I wondered: has he really recovered from his teenage years of being pampered in the entertainment industry and then arrested for hanging out with bad friends? I wonder if there are still some bad leads out there. Wouldn’t he return to his evil ways at any moment?

However, after hearing about Yuki Goto’s life after his release from prison and reading the notebook he wrote in prison, which he handed to me directly, I now have a better understanding. His determination not to cause any more trouble to his family will never waver.

This time I was entrusted with 11 notebooks that Yuki Goto wrote in prison during the process of publishing his book. Reading these notebooks, we can clearly understand the transition of his mind.

Among the 11 notebooks, I would like to introduce Yuki Goto’s notebook written on October 2, 2012. This was the day of his release from prison. It is a little long, but I will quote from it.

＜October 2, 2012, the day of his release from prison.

Good morning. It is now 5:00 in the morning and I am writing my last diary entry. I thought I wouldn’t be able to get up. But surprisingly I woke up with time to spare and was able to get up by myself.

(omitted).

Looking back like this now, I think that a lot has really happened in the past five years. I had countless hard times with my mother, my family, and so on. I think the reason I am able to do my best like this now is because of the support of my family. I am so sorry for the worry and trouble I have caused my sisters because of my stupid brother, but all I can say is thank you so much.

I am finally getting out of prison today, but I will never forget what you have done for my family even after I get out. My family is very important to me and they have supported me in everything. Even after my mother passed away, they all supported me. I try not to take them for granted. I think the hardest part for me will be after I get out of prison, but even so, I will never do anything to make my family sad again. I promised my mom I would be independent.

But still, five years was quite a long time. As soon as I entered here, I thought I had five years and three months until the maturity date, and it was hard every day because I really couldn’t see the future. People around me were getting out of prison and I just kept seeing them off.

Even so, when it was my turn, even on the day of my departure from prison, I still thought, “Am I really allowed to leave?” I think, “Am I really going to do it? But the reality is that I will be in the shabbat in a few hours. I am worried about many things, but once I start Shabbat, I have no choice but to move forward, so I will do my best. I will make full use of what I have learned here and change my mind in Shaba’a. (Mom) I will do my best.

Here, I have food, a place to live, and clothes to wear, and the prison provides me with everything I need. I am used to that kind of life.

But once I get out of the prison, I will have to do everything on my own. You have to work hard and have no one to be your limit (?). I have to put on the brakes and do things on my own. You have to put on the brakes and do things on your own. I am not sure if I will be able to get used to life in Shaba (laughs) because I have been here for so long. Even though I think I can do it, I am somewhat worried. But just having my family here gives me a lot of peace of mind, so that alone is a big support.

Prison was hard. I’ve been bullied and I’ve seen bullies get bullied. （I’ve had a lot of bullying, and I’ve seen people bully me. They didn’t do that to me, but they did a little bit. It made me stronger. I think I grew a lot here in terms of relationships.

There were people I wanted to kill, but if you get into a fight inside, you’re out, and you have to compromise and forgive yourself to get by. There were a lot of unreasonable things. I had to follow the stupid rules. Among the guards, there were many who thought we were nothing more than trash and scum. But we had no choice but to obey. Here, my father is a god. That’s great. You want to speak ill of him, don’t you? There are some old men who are unforgivable.

But I have to thank a lot of people who have supported me today, and I have to thank them all. If it had been just me, it would have been over by now, and I would have gone up many times, and it would have been a full term.

Thanks to my mother, XX, XX, XX, Maki, XX, XX, XX, XX, everyone has supported me. Thank you. (Names of family and friends are in parentheses.)

I’m going home today. I’m going to be independent.

Lastly, I want to thank you for helping me grow and improve even in this shitty prison. It was hard, but I didn’t let it go to waste and spent the last 5 years. It was hard, painful, lonely, infuriating, and a lot of other things, but I thought it was a place where I could change myself.

Thank you very much for all the years. I won’t be coming back!　by Yuki

The end of the imprisonment

His late mother and his three sisters, including Maki Goto, visited Kawagoe Juvenile Prison many times to encourage him.

Goto is now active as a You Tuber, and we look forward to his future activities. He is trying to get rid of the tattoo on his neck, partly because of a promise he made to his mother. He has already undergone five laser surgeries.

His story should be read by anyone who has fallen off the path or dropped out.

Here is the life of a man who has risen from the abyss.

Click here to pre-order and purchase “The Outlaw Philosophy: How to Struggle Through Life Without Rails”!