Japan may ratify an international treaty next year under which foreign inmates would be repatriated to serve out their prison terms at home, government officials said Thursday.

The Justice Ministry's Correction Bureau told officials at other bureaus Wednesday it plans to submit a proposal on ratifying the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons to the Diet during the 150-day session scheduled to begin in January, they said.

The bureau plans to formulate the proposal and bills outlining the necessary domestic measures, including transfer procedures, by February.