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CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — An airman from Kadena Air Base may face a drunken driving charge after his vehicle rear-ended another car over the weekend, according to police in Okinawa.

Senior Airman Gabriel Fernandez, 24, was arrested just after 6:15 a.m. Sunday after his car, northbound on Route 58, hit another car at a red light, a spokesman for Urasoe Police Station said over the phone Tuesday. Police said no injuries resulted from the collision.

Fernandez’s blood alcohol level was three times Japan’s legal limit for driving of 0.03%, the spokesman said.

Fernandez later admitted driving under the influence, the spokesman said. He said Fernandez was released and his case referred to prosecutors.

Kadena Air Base did not respond to a request for further information Tuesday.

Driving under the influence may result in up to three years in prison or up to $3,717 in fines, according to Japan’s Road Traffic Act.

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Mari Higa is an Okinawa-based reporter/translator who joined Stars and Stripes in 2021. She previously worked as a research consultant and translator. She studied sociology at the University of Birmingham and Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of Social Sciences.

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