A U.S. Defense Department civilian was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after crashing into a fence near Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japanese police said Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — Japanese police arrested a Defense Department civilian on suspicion of drunken driving after he crashed into a fence at an off-base construction site, a police spokesman said Friday.

Iwakuni city police allege Bradley Allan Brown, 66, who works as an electrical engineer at MCAS Iwakuni, drove into the fence in the Ajina area around 6:40 p.m. Thursday, the spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday.

Brown was in police custody Friday, he said. Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

“We are aware of this matter and [are] cooperating with Japanese authorities,” base spokesman 1st Lt. Aaron Ellis said by email Friday. “We take all allegations seriously, and it is regrettable to have had such an allegation.”

A witness told police that Brown's car drove into a metal fence set up on the road for construction work, the police spokesman said.

Brown was not injured and the fence was not severely damaged, the spokesman said.

A police officer smelled alcohol on Brown’s breath, the spokesman said, and a Breathalyzer measured Brown’s blood alcohol content to be more than the 0.03% legal limit to drive in Japan. By comparison, all 50 U.S. states have set 0.08% as the legal limit for driving under the influence of alcohol.

“We [will] continue to provide training and education on traffic safety in our efforts to prevent any reoccurrence of incidents or accidents in the future, so that we may continue to work together to make Iwakuni and our local community safer for all," Ellis said.