In the U.S., the industrial prison, which combined factory and custodial prison, emerged in the early 19th Century in New York. The concept flourished until political opposition gradually brought about its decline. Japan adopted the idea in the late 19th Century, and it continues successfully today. Three explanations are offered to explain the opposing outcomes of the histories of the industrial prison in Japan and the United States. First, organized labor lobbied in the U.S. against prison-made goods, believing that industrial prisons were depriving union members of economic opportunity. Second, contracting with private companies is the means by which industrial prisons gain access to the free market, but in the U.S., legislation eventually prohibited or severely inhibited such contracts. Third, many penal reformers and some correctional officials in the U.S. opposed the industrial prison and preferred character rehabilitation of offenders as the primary penological objective. In Japan, the industrial prison is believed to help the offender in the process of self-purification and reintegration. 1 table, 4 notes, and 61 references