Detainees awaiting trial are accommodated in detention houses, or in the detention sections of prisons or juvenile prisons. The treatment of detainees awaiting trial is designed to prevent escape or destruction of evidence, while also taking care to respect the defense rights of the suspect or person accused and to assure a proper custodial life. Detainees are, in principle, accommodated in single cells, but even when housed in shared cells, care is taken that suspects connected with the same case are not housed together and have no opportunity for contact outside their cells.
  Unlike convicted inmates, detainees awaiting trial are not obliged to use official supply clothes or bedding. They are also given broad-ranging freedom to buy their own food, drink, and daily requisites, provided they do not violate the rules or hygiene of the institution. As for prison visits and communication, there are no restrictions on the partner or the frequency, except in unavoidable cases in connection with the management of the institution. The content of communications is, however, subject to screening. Visits by defense counsel attorneys are not observed by guards. Reading of books, magazines, and newspapers is allowed, provided this does not contradict the purpose of the detention or violate the rules of the institution.
  Detainees awaiting trial are sometimes detained in police cells(detention cells attached to police stations, substituting for detention houses, etc. , under Article 1 (3) of the Prison Law). The average daily population of police cells in fiscal 1999 (accounting year) was 9,504.
  Work houses attached to prisons are used to detain offenders who are unable to pay fines or minor penalties imposed on them. The treatment of work house detainees generally corresponds to that of inmates sentenced to imprisonment with labor. During 1999, 3, 357 such offenders were detained in these work houses. Of these, 1,511 were detainees awaiting trial or convicted inmates previously housed in the correctional institution whose status had been changed to detention in a work house.
  Kanchi confinement(confinement as a punishment for contempt of court)is a legal measure based on the provisions of Article 2 of the Law for Maintenance of Order in Courtrooms, etc. Persons subject to this confinement are detained in kanchi confinement cells attached to correctional institutions. Treatment of these detainees corresponds to that of detainees awaiting trial, except that there are some restrictions on visits, communication, and the freedom to purchase clothes, and they are not allowed to buy their own food or drink. In 1999, 4 persons were subject to kanchi confinement.
  Inmates sentenced to death are accommodated in detention houses or in the detention section of prisons until the sentence is carried out. The treatment of inmates sentenced to death generally corresponds to that of detainees awaiting trial. They are accommodated in single cells and are not obliged to work, though some are allowed to do simple work in their cells upon request. Similarly, they may request religious services from prison chaplains or guidance and advice from voluntary prison visitors. As of December 31st, 1999, there were 50 inmates awaiting execution of death sentences.