Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama announced Monday the inauguration of a special panel tasked with discussing correctional reform.
Eight legal experts and seven other people from various fields have been appointed to the committee.
The move was prompted by recent revelations concerning two deadly assaults on inmates by Nagoya Prison guards in the last two years. Moriyama said she hopes the panel will come up with specific proposals by the end of the year.
The Correctional Policy Reform Committee will look to address human rights abuses and other problems linked to the prison system.
Former Justice Minister Hiroshi Miyazawa will chair the committee, which will hold its first meeting April 14.
Dentsu Inc. President Yutaka Narita was named acting chairman, Moriyama said.
Panel members include Koichi Kikuta, a professor of criminal law at Meiji University; Kazumasa Kuboi, a former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations; and Mituyo Ohira, who wrote a best-selling book based on her experiences as a mobster's wife before she became a lawyer.
Writer Ayako Sono and journalist Shoko Egawa were also appointed to the panel.
Masaharu Gotoda, a former vice prime minister, was named an adviser to the committee.
The primary agenda will be to establish a system that allows prisoners to file complaints of mistreatment with outside authorities, Moriyama said.
It will also discuss how human rights awareness should be raised among prison guards and how better relationships can be developed between inmates and prison officials, she added.