TOKYO - The prospect of a cheaper funeral is being used to entice elderly Japanese drivers to give up their licenses as police step up efforts to prevent accidents caused by ageing motorists.

Deadly accidents involving elderly drivers are a growing problem in a country where the population is rapidly growing older and some 4.8 million people aged 75 or older hold a license.

In November, a 6-year-old boy died and 11 others were injured after an 87-year-old driver's pickup truck hit children walking to school in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.