Inmates are provided with the necessary food and drink, 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.
  As for clothes and beddings, careful consideration is given to heat insulation, hygiene, appearance, etc., while inmates are allowed some daily requisites to be bought at their own expense or brought in from the outside.
  Penal institutions have medical departments or sections in accordance with their size and the nature of operation. Doctors and other medical specialists are assigned to these departments and sections and engaged in work related to medical treatment and hygiene in the institution. There are some penal institutions that specialize in medical treatment, namely the Hachioji, Okazaki, Osaka and Kitakyushu Prisons. Furthermore, 6 prisons (Sapporo, Miyagi, Fuchu, Nagoya, Hiroshima and Fukuoka) are designated as medical priority institutions, and medical equipment and medical specialists are intensively assigned to these institutions.
  As of April 1, 2002, the capacity of medical specialists of penal institutions consisted of 226 doctors, 35 pharmacists, 18 nutritionists, 20 radiologists, 16 clinical hygiene inspectors, and 252 nurses (Source: Correction Bureau, Ministry of Justice).