Living in a box: The desperate workers forced to live in tiny 'coffin' apartments of Tokyo - which still cost up to £400 a month to rent

They are barely large enough for a single person to squeeze into at all, let alone swing a cat. But incredibly these tiny 'coffin' apartments in central Tokyo still command rents of up to £400 a month.

Tight squeeze: A Tokyo local shows a Japanese news crew around her tiny 'coffin apartment'

Pokey: People are paying up to £400-a-month to live in the tiny 'coffin' apartments

The Japanese capital is one of the most crowded cities in the world, and to cash in on the chronic housing problem, landlords have developed what are known as 'geki-sema' or share houses. They are little more than cupboards, tiny cubicles stacked on top of each other with just enough room for one person and a few of their possessions.

Party time: The news team somehow manage to all squeeze inside the miniscule apartment

Definitely not for the claustrophobic, many don't even have windows and the doors and anyone over 6ft tall would have trouble stretching their legs. Most are used by young professionals who spend most of their time at work and outdoors, using these tiny accommodations just for sleeping. The photo's of the apartments in the Tokyo’s Shibuya district come from a recent Japanese news program showed

Cosy: The tiny cubicles are often stacked on top of each other and contain just enough room for one person to stretch out

Entertaining friends: The apartments tend to be used by young professionals who spend most of their time at work and outdoors

No space like home: Many of the 'geki-sema' share houses don't even have windows

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2286069/Living-box-The-tiny-coffin-apartments-Tokyo-cost-400-month-rent.html