A man has been arrested in the Japanese city of Osaka after allegedly driving his car into seven schoolchildren in a suspected deliberate attack, local media said.

The children, who were on their way home from school, were injured and taken to hospital but all seven remained conscious, according to the public broadcaster NHK and other outlets.

Police could not immediately confirm the reports.

The driver was a 28-year-old man who lives in Tokyo and Osaka police have held him on suspicion of attempted murder, the reports said, citing unidentified investigative sources