The Japan Federation of Bar Associations is ready to call for improved medical services and living conditions at the nation's prisons, it was learned Tuesday.
The proposal, which will be submitted to a Justice Ministry panel, is in response to last month's final ministry report on about 1,600 inmate deaths over 10 years through 2002.
A draft of the proposal calls for creating a third-party watchdog, including representatives from the private sector, to monitor conditions at correctional facilities to prevent human rights abuses at the hands of guards.