(1)Parole preparatory investigation system
  Even before a Regional Parole Board receives an application for parole, parole preparatory investigations are conducted to complement parole examinations and assist the smooth return to society of the individual concerned. For these surveys, probation officers from the secretariats of Regional Parole Boards are sent to correctional institutions to interview inmates and identify problems facing their return to society, as well as discussing necessary measures and other matters with the staff of the correctional institution. In 1999, these surveys were carried out for a total of 36,316 offenders (27,599 inmates and 8,717 juvenile training school detainees), an increase of 1.3% from the previous year(source:Rehabilitation Bureau, Ministry of Justice).
  Moreover, to further enhance these parole preparatory investigations, a resident officer system is now being implemented in 10 major prisons. In this system, probation officers from the secretariats of Regional Parole Boards are permanently stationed in correctional institutions. As well as conducting parole preparatory investigations, these resident probation officers(resident officers)cooperate in various types of correctional treatment, attend various treatment-related meetings inside the correctional institutions, and undertake various other work that contributes to organic links between correction and rehabilitation. In 1999,resident officers interviewed 3,037 inmates, and cooperated 324 times in guidance on commencement of sentence, etc. , and 321 times in pre-release guidance, etc. (source:Rehabilitation Bureau, Ministry of Justice).
(2)Intensification of parole examinations for inmates serving long terms
  Offenders imprisoned in correctional institutions for long terms are generally subject to fierce social criticism on account of their brutal or serious crimes. Many of them, moreover, have problems in their temperament, environment, and so on. Therefore, Regional Parole Boards, when conducting parole examinations for inmates serving long terms, undertake particularly intricate investigation and examination on the inmate's mental and physical condition, persecution complexes, and other related matters, and give special consideration to guidance and advice for the inmate, community adjustment in the planned place of next abode, and so on.
  For inmates serving long-term sentences with a recommended minimum term of 8 years or more(including life sentences), the examination is pursued with extreme care. For example, parole preparatory investigations by probation officers from the secretariats of Regional Parole Boards are started as soon as possible and held at regular intervals. Meanwhile, chief examiners conduct repeated interviews, and interviews are conducted by more than one examiners at once(see Section 3 (4) of this Chapter).