Halfway houses provide various aid such as accommodation, meals, employment support and counseling and advice for (1) probationers or parolees or those who receive urgent aftercare of discharged offenders whose care has been entrusted by probation offices (entrusted aid) or (2) those who apply for aid personally when the entrusted aid has terminated due to expiration of the prescribed period of urgent aftercare or other reasons (voluntary aid).
  Halfway houses are established separately for men and women and for adults and juveniles, or accommodate them separately within the same house. Fig. 2-5-4-3 shows the distribution of halfway houses as of April 1, 2002, by type of resident.
   Fig. 2-5-4-4 shows the percent distribution of inmates released from penal institutions in 2001, by planned place of next abode. The percentage of parolees who were to abode in halfway houses was higher than that of inmates released on completion of their sentences. The use of halfway houses increases in proportion to the frequency of imprisonment.

Fig. 2-5-4-3 Distribution and the number of halfway houses and the capacity thereof (as of April 1, 2002)

Fig. 2-5-4-4 Percent distribution of released inmates by prospective place of next abode after release (2001)