For the first time since the end of World War II, Osaka this year will overtake Tokyo and have the highest crime rate in the country.

According to figures compiled by the National Police Agency, Osaka reported 298,000 criminal cases in the first 11 months of the year, compared with some 268,000 cases in the metropolitan Tokyo district.

NPA officials said Osaka is unlikely to drop below Tokyo after factoring in the figures for December.

Tokyo, with the largest population among the nation's 47 prefectures, has consistently held the position as the nation's top city for crime, with Osaka at No. 2.

NPA officials said Osaka still lags behind Tokyo in serious crimes, such as homicide and robbery, but the overall crime figure in Osaka has been pushed up this year by a sharp increase in thefts.

Even so, crime experts are surprised by the turnaround, given the population gap between the two metropolises -- 12 million in the Tokyo area against 8.8 million in Osaka Prefecture.

According to the National Police Agency, crimes reported in Osaka from January to November increased by 73,000 over the same period last year, whereas the figure rose by 2,900 in Tokyo.

Thefts of bicycles or valuables from cars rose particularly noticeably in Osaka, with the overall number of reported thefts rising 60,000 from last year to 254,000. There were 218,000 reported thefts in Tokyo.

The number of criminal cases reported in Osaka was roughly half that of Tokyo until the mid-1970s. Crimes in Osaka began to pick up after topping 200,000 for the first time in 1989.