The Justice Ministry plans to draw up new legislation to prevent correctional officers from abusing prison inmates in the wake of a series of incidents at Nagoya Prison in which two convicts have died since late 2001, according to ministry sources.
The ministry intends to scrap the current prison law, established in 1908, and replace it with new legislation that introduces a system under which inmates can more effectively seek help, the sources said.
An advisory panel to the justice minister, to be set up in mid-April and made up of outside experts, will be tasked with discussing ways to reform Japan's correctional system and making recommendations for a bill.
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