Section 4 Treatment of Presentenced Inmates, etc.
Presentenced inmates are held in detention houses, prisons, or juvenile prisons, separate from sentenced inmates.
The treatment of presentenced inmates is designed to prevent them from escaping and destroying any evidence, while respecting their right to defend as a suspect or a defendant and to ensure appropriate custody of them. Presentenced inmates are accommodated alone in single cells if there is any risk of them destroying evidence. Even in some other cases presentenced inmates are accommodated in single cells where possible unless it is considered more appropriate to accommodate them in shared cells as part of their treatment.
Unlike sentenced inmates, presentenced inmates purchase their clothes and bedding at their own expense, in principle, and are given a wider range of freedom to buy their own food, drink, and other daily necessities, provided that they do not impose any risk to the maintenance of discipline/order and the performance of other administrative duties. Visits to presentenced inmates are observed by guards, in principle, except for visits of their defense counsel, and the content of any written communications can be subject to censorship. In addition, visits, etc. can be restricted under the Code of Criminal Procedure and also restricted if there is a risk of evidence being destroyed or if it is necessary for the maintenance of the discipline/order of the institution or the performance of administrative duties. Books, magazines, and newspapers are permitted as long as they do not pose any risk of evidence being destroyed or the discipline/order of the institution being violated.
Persons under detention, etc. can be accommodated in detention facilities in place of penal institutions (substitute detention), with persons under detention before prosecution usually being detained in detention facilities. The average daily number of persons detained in detention facilities in FY 2008 was 11,070 (Source: The Correction Bureau, Ministry of Justice).
Persons sentenced to death penalty in a final judgment are detained in penal institutions separately from other inmates until execution of their sentence. Attention is paid to ensuring the mental stability of inmates sentenced to death penalty in a final judgment. In addition, measures such as providing advice and lectures that are considered to contribute to their mental stability are used in cooperation with private volunteers as required. As of December 31, 2008, there were 100 inmates who were sentenced to death penalty in a final judgment (Source: Annual Report of Statistics on Correction).
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