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Police in central Japan are offering elderly people cut-price meals if they agree to surrender their driving licences.

The deal has been arranged for senior citizens in Aichi Prefecture in a bid to reduce the number of traffic accidents on local roads. From Friday, elderly drivers who hand over their licences will get a 15% discount on ramen - the popular noodle and broth soup - at the Sugakiya restaurant chain, .

The savings will be available at 176 eateries across the prefecture, after police agreed a partnership with the chain's owners. People who relinquish their licences will be given a certificate by police, which will give them access to a reduced-price set menu including ramen, rice and salad.

It's the latest in a string of discounts that police have arranged to try to persuade people to give up driving, including savings on taxis and at public baths, the website notes. A similar scheme now running in Tokyo gives elderly people a "driving graduation certificate" in recognition of their many years on the road, .

Japan has seen a rise in the number of accidents involving elderly drivers in recent years, have proved fatal, prompting a nationwide debate.

Last week, a 97-year-old Buddhist priest his licence in an attempt to encourage his peers to do the same. Taa Shinen said he recognised that even if he drives carefully he could cause a collision, adding: "It's stupid to try to maintain your licences just out of pride."

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