Any juvenile who is sentenced to imprisonment with or without labor may serve his or her sentence in a juvenile prison or in a specifically designated section in an ordinary prison in order to prevent adverse influences from adult prisoners and also to ensure sufficient educational and training opportunities.He or she may continue serving the sentence in the same prison even after reaching the age of20,until the age of26(Article56(1)and(2)of the Juvenile Law).Since the enforcement of the amended Juvenile Law in April2001,any juvenile aged under16sentenced to imprisonment with or without labor has been allowed to serve his or her sentence in a juvenile training school until he or she turns16(Article56(3)of the Juvenile Law).
  Such a juvenile who serves his or her sentence in a juvenile prison or a specifically designated section in an ordinary prison or in a juvenile training school under the Juvenile Law is referred to as a juvenile prisoner.
  As of April1,2004,juvenile prisons are set up in eight locations:Hakodate,Morioka,Mito,Kawagoe,Matsumoto,Himeji,Nara,and Saga.