The Justice Ministry plans to require that all prison inmates, including sex offenders, take re-education courses in a bid to reduce recidivism after release, ministry officials said Sunday.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The ministry will propose making participation in the corrective lessons mandatory as part of a bill to amend the Prison Law, which it plans to submit to the Diet during the session that convenes Friday, the officials said.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Prisons currently offer corrective lessons for drug and alcohol abuse as well as sexual offenses, and courses on helping inmates sever affiliations with gang groups. The Prison Law, however, currently carries no provision making participation in any of these courses obligatory.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Under the proposed changes, all convicts would be required to take such courses.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Behind the ministry's move are mounting public calls following a murder case involving a 7-year-old girl in Nara Prefecture for the government to take appropriate steps to ensure that sex offenders in particular do not repeat their crimes.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>A 36-year-old man was arrested late last month on suspicion of kidnapping the girl on her way home from school on Nov. 17.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The suspect, Kaoru Kobayashi, a former newspaper delivery man for the Mainichi Shimbun, has admitted to both kidnapping and killing the girl, according to police.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>It emerged after his arrest that Kobayashi was sent to prosecutors in 1989 on suspicion of molesting a young girl in the city of Osaka. He was also arrested in 1991 on suspicion of attempted murder of another girl. He was found guilty in both cases and served a prison term for the second conviction.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Earlier this month, Justice Minister Chieko Noono proposed making the re-education program more effective.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>In addition to making such courses mandatory, the ministry plans to add a clause to the law giving prison authorities the power to penalize prisoners who refuse to take part.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Currently, some prisons offer sex offenders corrective courses in which they are advised to read books on the suffering of victims of sex crimes.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Critics say such courses as insufficient.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The ministry will study how other countries deal with corrective courses. It is also considering setting up an expert advisory panel. </PARAGRAPH> <SUBHEAD> Nara suspect visits site</SUBHEAD> <PARAGRAPH>NARA –

The man who reportedly has admitted kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old Nara girl was taken by police Saturday to the scene of the alleged abduction.

Police had Kaoru Kobayashi, 36, a former newspaper delivery man for the Mainichi Shimbun, describe how he had persuaded Kaede Ariyama to get into his car after spotting her on her way home from school at around 1:50 p.m. Nov. 17.

Kobayashi identified his and the girl's positions when he first talked to her, according to police.

They also brought Kobayashi to his apartment in Sango, Nara Prefecture, where he has allegedly said he brought the girl after abducting her.

Police have quoted Kobayashi as saying he first approached the girl by offering to take her to her house in his car, as she seemed to be in a hurry.

After tricking her into getting into the car, Kobayashi lured her into his apartment by telling her that he needed to pick up something there, according to the police.

Investigators have said they believe Kobayashi originally kidnapped the girl with the intention of molesting her.

On Dec. 30, the day of his arrest, police searched his apartment and found some of the girl's belongings, including her cell phone, schoolbag and the denim jumper she was wearing at the time of the kidnapping.

The police have said Kobayashi admitted to having both kidnapped and killed her.

The girl was found dead a day later in a roadside ditch in Heguri, about 6 km from her home in Nara, with abrasions on her limbs and bruises on her face and other parts of her body.