Translation guide
This English phrase refers to a person who is running away or hiding to avoid arrest, prosecution, or punishment. In Japanese, there is no single exact equivalent; instead, different words and phrases are used depending on the legal context, formality, and whether the person is actively evading capture or has simply not been apprehended.
To refer to someone who is being sought by the police or authorities, often with a warrant.
The most direct and common translation. It means 'escapee' or 'fugitive' and is used in news and legal contexts.
The police are pursuing the fugitive.
Specifically refers to a suspect who is wanted on a warrant and whose name has been publicly listed. Often used in wanted posters.
He was publicized nationwide as a wanted fugitive.
A slightly old-fashioned or dramatic term for a wanted person, often used in period dramas or to evoke a historical feel.
He was a wanted man in the Edo period.
To describe someone who has broken out of prison or escaped while being transported.
To emphasize that the person is in hiding to avoid prosecution.
Used in formal legal or international contexts, such as extradition.
A formal legal term used in laws and treaties, such as the 'Fugitive Criminal Extradition Act' (逃亡犯罪人引渡法).
He was extradited under the fugitive criminal extradition treaty.
The phrase 'fugitive from justice' cannot be translated word-for-word into Japanese. Expressions like 正義からの逃亡者 (seigi kara no toubousha) are unnatural and not used.
逃亡者 is a general term for anyone who has fled, while 指名手配犯 specifically means a person who is officially wanted with a warrant and publicly listed. Use 逃亡者 for a broader sense, and 指名手配犯 when emphasizing the wanted status.
The fleeing suspect escaped from the scene by car.
The criminal seems to be hiding in the mountains.