Over-65s now make up one in five convictions in the Asian country, up from one in 20 just over two decades ago.

Demography expert Michael Newman told BBC News that Japan’s “measly” state pension is to blame for the shift.

He said: “The pensioners don’t want to be a burden to their children, and feel that if they can’t survive on the state pension then pretty much the only way not to be a burden is to shuffle themselves away into prison.”

Toshio Takata, 69, told the BBC: “I reached pension age and then I ran out of money. So it occurred to me - perhaps I could live for free if I lived in jail. So I took a bicycle and rode it to the police station and told the guy there: ‘Look, I took this.’”