Elderly drivers in Japan have been offered discounts on funeral services if they hand over their driving licences, in a bid to cut down on dangerous road-users.

The macabre incentive forms part of the Japanese government's latest attempts to get geriatric drivers off the roads, following a series of fatal accidents.

The country was particularly shocked by the recent case of an 87-year-old who killed a six-year-old boy after he lost control of his car and mowed down a line of children on their way to school.

The pensioner later claimed that he "didn't remember where he had been."

Those who give up their licenses will be offered 15 per cent discounts at Hwinkaku Co, which has 89 funeral homes in Aichi prefecture.