4 Medical care and hygiene, etc.

  Sentenced inmates are provided with the necessary food and drink (hot water and tea, etc.), taking account of their physical condition, health, age, work and other factors. They are also lent or supplied clothes, bedding, daily requisites, and others necessary for daily life.
  The daily cost for side dishes per adult sentenced inmate was 421.50 yen in FY2008 (Source: The Correction Bureau, Ministry of Justice).
  Special consideration is given to food for sentenced inmates who are elderly, pregnant, or are engaging in exhausting work, etc., or whose physiques are quite different. Consideration is also given to particular food and drink for sentenced inmates who cannot eat regular meals due to religious reasons or a different dietary habit.
  As for clothes and bedding, careful consideration is given regarding heat insulation, hygiene, appearance, etc., while sentenced inmates are allowed to buy some daily requisites at their own expense or receive them from the outside.
  Penal institutions have medical departments or sections in accordance with their size and operation. Doctors and other medical specialists are assigned to these departments and sections. There are some penal institutions specialized for medical treatment, namely Hachioji, Okazaki, Osaka and Kitakyushu Medical Prisons. Furthermore, six prisons (Sapporo, Miyagi, Fuchu, Nagoya, Hiroshima and Fukuoka Prisons) are designated as medical priority institutions. In these 10 institutions, medical equipment and specialists are intensively assigned (Source: The Correction Bureau, Ministry of Justice).