Inmates who are dissatisfied with their treatment in the institutions may file their complaints as civil or administrative lawsuits, criminal complaints or charges, or notification of human rights violation, under general appeals systems. Furthermore, they may also file petitions to the Minister of Justice or his/her inspectors (officers of the Ministry of Justice who carry out on-the-spot inspections of penal institutions under the order of the Minister of Justice) in the system under the prison law legislations. Petitions should be sent to the Minister of Justice in writing, or may be submitted to an inspector either in writing or orally. In both cases, complaints shall be confidential to ensure that the contents of the complaint will not be made known to the staff of the institution in advance. Inmates may also request interviews by the warden of the institution (interviews by the warden).
   Fig. 2-4-3-6 shows the trend in the number of grievances filed by inmates during the period from 1993 to 2002.

Fig. 2-4-3-6 Trend in the number of grievances filed by inmates (1993-2002)