New female inmates in1999numbered1,207(up by8from the previous year), accounting for4.9%(down0.3points)of all new inmates(source:Annual Report of Statistics on Correction).
  Female inmates are detained in six facilities, namely the Tochigi, Wakayama, Kasamatsu, Iwakuni and Fumoto Prisons, and the Sapporo Branch Prison. Unlike prisons for men, prisons for women do not specialize in the treatment of any particular class of inmate(A, B,etc. ). Categories of inmates are, however, taken into account when designating workshops, and rooms within the institution.
  Vocational training for female inmates is provided according to their characteristics. They are encouraged to take correspondence education courses as well as cultural courses provided within the facilities. Club activities are also offered, including tanka and haiku poetry, choral singing, and flower arrangement.