A 19-year-old boy arrested for car theft has admitted he stole nine cars in the space of a week in February and slept in them because he left home, police said Wednesday.

The police said the boy, from Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, was arrested for stealing a taxi from a parking lot of a convenience store and a car from a used car dealership in the ward on Feb. 12. The combined value of the cars was about ¥3.5 million.

But after his arrest, the boy, who was not identified since he is a minor, revealed that he took a total of nine cars during one week in early February, the police said.

Each car had been left with the keys inside, and the boy, who doesn't have a driver's license, drove off in them, the police said. Once a car ran out of gas, he abandoned it and stole another one.

"I learned how to drive by watching my grandfather, who was a taxi driver. I began to steal cars when I was in junior high school and I have repeatedly stolen cars since then," the boy was quoted as saying by police.