Tokyo: Four children were critically injured in Japan on Wednesday when a car involved in an accident with another vehicle skidded into a group of nursery school children on a sidewalk, NHK national television said.

Thirteen children, including the four critically injured, and two of their teachers were taken to hospital, NHK said.

Television footage showed two cars slewed at opposite corners of a crossing and brightly coloured school bags scattered on a sidewalk.

The drivers of the two vehicles were arrested, NHK added.

There was no immediate information about the age of the drivers but Japan has recently seen a series of fatal car accidents involving elderly drivers in the rapidly ageing country.

In April, a mother and her three-year-old daughter were killed after a car driven by a 87-year-old man ploughed into a group of people on a crosswalk.

The accidents have sparked debate about elderly drivers.