Prison authorities in Japan sold about 1 billion yen worth of mostly unwanted made-in-prison products to a number of government-designated companies in fiscal 2001.
Sources said this apparently questionable business practice has gone on for nearly 20 years.
The Correctional Association, a prison welfare organization affiliated with the Justice Ministry, defended the policy, saying it has asked for "cooperation" from firms to help maintain the volume of work at prisons.
Some of the companies involved, however, said they felt "coerced" into taking the prison products.