Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama punished 11 ministry officials on Friday, including Vice Minister Keiichi Tadaki, in connection with the death and serious injuries of two Nagoya Prison inmates last May and September.
Tadaki was issued a strict warning, while Kenji Nakai, director of the ministry's Correction Bureau, was given a reprimand. Nine others, including the former head of the prison, were handed such punishments as work suspensions.
In the latest incident involving Nagoya Prison, a deputy chief warden was arrested Feb. 12 in connection with an inmate's death in December 2001. The man was allegedly assaulted by guards acting on the deputy chief warden's orders.