The Justice Ministry will seek a sharp increase in its fiscal 2003 budget to address the problem of overcrowding in Japan's prisons and request a "research budget" to build the first new prisons in about 20 years, ministry sources said.

The ministry is planning to request 19.1 billion yen, up 62.6 percent from the current fiscal year, to maintain correctional facilities. Most of the money would be used to expand existing prisons, they said Saturday.

The amount would comprise part of the ministry's budgetary request for fiscal 2003, which begins April 1, 2003. The 62.6 percent hike stands out as the ministry is seeking a rather moderate 4.1 percent rise in its overall budget, to 635.2 billion yen.

The ministry is hoping to select sites for one or two new prisons by the end of December and have them built by fiscal 2005.

According to the ministry, Japan's prison population has been increasing by around 4,000 inmates per year since 1999. Preliminary data show it stood at 67,700 as of the end of July.

The number of prisoners outnumbered prison capacity for the first time in 35 years last year, and the ministry expects the population to reach 80,000 in 2005.

It initially planned on expansion to reduce overcrowding, but judged that would not be enough to cover projected increases.

Built in 1983, Tsukigata prison in Hokkaido is Japan's newest prison. It replaced Tokyo's Nakano prison, which was closed.

The new facilities would be the first time the total number of prisons in Japan has increased since the opening of Yokosuka prison in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1951.