A 64-year-old Japanese man has been fined more than £1,300 – for stealing a roll of toilet paper.

The man, who has not been named, was found guilty of stealing the toilet paper from the restroom of a hospital in Okinoshima, an island in Shimane prefecture off the west coast of Japan.

The man was arrested and charged before he was reportedly fined £1,379 (200,000 yen) for stealing the toilet paper which was valued at a comparatively meagre 21 pence (30 yen).

The man’s penalty for his toilet paper theft prompted animated debate among media outlets and blogs in Japan, with many surprised at the apparent severity of the fine.

“I’m really sad – the hospital, the police, the court overreacted,” wrote one blogger. Others called the decision “insane” and questioned the apparent “boredom” of local police, while another speculated: “He must have been too poor to buy toilet paper.”

Several people also pointed out that the man could have bought more than 6,000 rolls of toilet paper with the amount he now faced paying out in fines.

The incident also prompted some news blogs to cite an online Japanese survey from two years ago, which found that 8.7 per cent of participants had apparently taken home toilet paper from public restrooms in the past.

Some voices, however, were supportive of the apparently hardline judgment, criticising the man’s actions and stating that “theft is theft”.

While the reason the man stole the toilet paper was not explained, growing poverty among Japan’s rapidly ageing population has fueled a surge in so-called “silver crimes” in recent years.

The number of Japanese over the age 65 in prison quadrupled over the past two decades to 2,495 in 2016 – accounting for more than 12 per cent of all prisoners, according to government figures.

Petty crimes such as shoplifting and theft were among the most common reasons for pensioners ending up behind bars in Japan, in a reflection of the financial hardships facing many of Japan’s elderly.

Furthermore, nearly one in four elderly Japanese convicts reoffends within two years – compared to just 11 per cent of those under the age of 29, figures have found.