(1)Basic of treatment
  Juvenile training schools specializing in short-term and long-term treatment are designated by each of the eight regional correction headquarters nationwide. Three treatment courses are provided in general short-term treatment:academic education, vocational guidance and career guidance. Long-term treatment has five courses:living guidance, vocational resources development, academic education, special education and medical care.
(2)Flow of treatment
  Fig. III-35 is a flowchart of treatment in juvenile training schools.
  In chronological order from admission to release, treatment in juvenile training schools is classified into three phases:orientation stage, intermediate stage and pre-release stage. For individual juveniles, the treatment proceeds in four stages according to their improvement, progress, etc. , from lower second grade at the time of admission, to upper second grade, lower first grade and then upper first grade.

Fig. III-35 Flowchart of treatment in juvenile training schools

a. Orientation stage
  In the orientation stage directly following admission, a medical checkup and guidance for understanding of life in the juvenile training school are conducted to identify the characteristics and educational needs of newly admitted juveniles, as well as to ensure a smooth transition to correctional education. Various investigations are also undertaken about personal affairs including the environment, history, educational level and skills of newly admitted juveniles. After this, treatment plans for individual juveniles are prepared following discussion by a Treatment Review Board, consisting of the superintendent and related officers of the juvenile training school.
  The orientation stage continues for about a month before transition to the intermediate stage.
b. Intermediate stage
  Based on the result of the orientation stage, correctional education to meet the characteristics and educational needs of juveniles is imparted in the intermediate stage.
(a)Living guidance
  Living guidance aims to improve the individual problems of trainees, as well as to develop sound attitudes, ideas, and behavior. Principal activities include (i)guidance on problematic behavior, (ii)therapeutic education, (iii)cultivation of aesthetic sensitivity, (iv)basic training on living, (v)coordination and guidance related to protection, and (vi)career guidance. Above all, guidance on problematic behavior focuses on issues of awareness, attitude and behavior related to delinquency. Among these activities, guidance on specific problems deals with drugs, traffic, family, association with delinquent friends, etc. , and includes group discussions as well as the use of audio-visual materials. Since many trainees have problems related to the family environment, the adjustment of the family relationship is pursued through meetings with parents, meetings between parents, and other forms of guidance involving guardians, as well as through events involving the participation of family members.
(b)Vocational training and guidance
  Vocational training and guidance aims to raise working morale and impart vocational knowledge and skills. Activities include (i)vocational orientation centered on practical training in production and skills, (ii)vocational training based on related laws and regulations including the Human Resource Development Promotion Law, and (iii)outside vocational guidance undertaken by external business entities.
  As of April 1, 2001, 21 vocational training and guidance subjects were taught in juvenile training schools, including woodwork, welding, agriculture and horticulture for males, and reception services, office work/word-processing and nursing-care services for females (Source:Correction Bureau, Ministry of Justice).
  1,817 of those released in 2000 obtained qualifications or licenses related to the vocational training and guidance received in juvenile training schools. The percentage of those who obtained qualifications and licenses related to vocational training and guidance to the total number of persons released from juvenile training schools in 2000 stood at 31.3% for males and 51.2% for females.
  Outside vocational guidance covers a variety of subjects such as assistance in elderly nursing care and supermarket employees. 466 (8.5%) of those released from juvenile training schools in 2000 received outside vocational guidance (Source:Annual Report of Statistics on Correction).
(c)Academic education
  Those who have not completed compulsory education are placed in the academic education course, where they receive general education based on the junior high school course of study. Consideration is also given to a smooth return to ordinary school and the choice of subsequent education or employment, through guidance on entrance examinations in light of future career prospects, for example. Mainly juveniles under special short-term treatment attend their original junior or senior high schools from home after a short period of institutional education. These trainees only return to juvenile training school at weekends.
  Of those who released from juvenile training schools in 2000, 113 returned to junior high schools and 164 went back to senior high schools. In the same year, 256 persons received certificates of junior high school education while in juvenile training school (Source:Annual Report of Statistics on Correction).
  Those in need of senior high school education are transferred to schools with correspondence course programs. Those who wish to enter institutions of higher education are given opportunities to take the University Entrance Qualification Examination organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, through supplementary classes tailored to the needs of individual trainees.
  Those in need of knowledge other than school education receive social correspondence course programs in auto mechanics, electrical engineering, calligraphy/penmanship, etc.
(d)Health and physical education
  In recognition of the importance of health and physical education, juvenile training schools emphasize the restoration and improvement of physical and mental health. Health education provides guidance on health care and disease prevention, among others, whereas physical education aims at health maintenance and the upgrading of basic physical abilities through sports such as volleyball, swimming and kendo.
(e)Special activities
  Special activities, conducted mainly in groups, according to general educational needs common to the trainees, include (i)voluntary activities, (ii)educational activities outside institutions, (iii)club activities, (iv)recreation and (v)events. Special activities assume the critical role of enriching life in juvenile training schools, making use of leisure hours and providing opportunities for various experiences.
c. Pre-release stage
  Juveniles who have reached the upper first grade progress from the intermediate stage to the pre-release stage. For these juveniles, a request for release on parole (provisional discharge)is submitted by the superintendent of the juvenile training school to the respective Regional Parole Board. In the pre-release stage, thorough career guidance is provided according to the needs of individual trainees concerned, in order to ensure a smooth transition to social life. Such meticulous career guidance activities include concrete guidance on job seeking for those wishing to be employed, guidance on and temporary release for entrance examinations for those wishing to proceed to higher levels of education, and information for those who have not decided on their subsequent education or career. In particular, training for the improvement of social adaptability using role-playing, group discussion, etc. , is actively undertaken so that the juveniles may learn how to respond to critical circumstances that they might have to face after release.
(3)Medical care and meals
  Those who require special or long-term medical care are admitted to medical juvenile training schools. Those in need of other types of medical care receive treatment from doctors of individual juvenile training schools. If it is impossible to provide appropriate medical care in the schools, however, trainees receive treatment in proper hospitals outside the schools as outpatients or by hospitalization.
  1,609 (29.3%) of those released from juvenile training schools in 2000 have received some kind of medical treatment in hospital rooms, including those who have received long-term treatment in medical juvenile training schools. Most of them were cured in short periods of time.
  Clothes, bedding and other supplies necessary for daily life are lent or provided by juvenile training schools. The use of personal belongings is allowed, provided that they present no harm to discipline or health.
(4)Cooperation with the non-governmental sector
  Education in juvenile training schools is imparted in cooperation with nongovernmental volunteers in various aspects of living guidance, vocational training and guidance, academic education, health/physical education and special activities. Such cooperation includes consultation conducted by volunteer visitors for inmates and chaplains. Volunteer visitors for inmates give advice on mental problems and cultural guidance, etc. , and chaplains perform individual consultation requested by trainees. Juvenile training schools had 765 volunteer visitors for inmates and 365 chaplains as of December 31, 2000 (Source:Annual Report of Statistics on Correction).