A U.S. Marine was arrested following a hit-and-run crash on Route 58 in Naha, Okinawa, May 25, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
NAHA, Okinawa — A U.S. Marine was arrested over the weekend after allegedly fleeing a drunken driving crash that injured four members of a Japanese family, including two children.
The 20-year-old lance corporal, assigned to Camp Hansen, is accused of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a crash that occurred at 10:29 a.m. Sunday on Route 58 in Naha’s Aja district, an Okinawa Prefectural Police spokeswoman said by phone Tuesday.
The Marine was traveling north when he struck a roadside water tank near an exit toward a side road, lost control of his vehicle and hit another northbound car carrying a family of five, the spokeswoman said. He then fled on foot and was arrested about 80 minutes later.
Police apprehended him more than 300 feet away and escorted him back to the crash site, where he was questioned and arrested, a Naha police spokesman said by phone Tuesday.
The spokesman added that the Marine’s blood-alcohol content was about twice Japan’s legal limit of 0.03%. By comparison, the legal limit is 0.08% in the United States.
The Marine was arrested on suspicion of violating Article 72 of Japan’s Road Traffic Act — failing to provide aid to the injured, the spokeswoman said.
It’s customary in Japan that some government officials speak to the press without providing their names.
The Marine was still in custody at Naha Police Station on Tuesday, the same day his case was expected to be referred to prosecutors, the Naha police spokesman said.
Police said the crash injured four people in the family’s vehicle: a 36-year-old woman driving the car; her 39-year-old husband; and two of their children — a 10-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy. A 1-year-old girl in the back seat was not hurt.
The mother, the 7-year-old boy and the infant were treated and released. The father and the 10-year-old girl remained hospitalized as of Monday. Their injuries included lacerations and complaints of pain, but no life-threatening conditions, the spokesman said.
Another unidentified person was in the Marine’s vehicle during the crash, he added.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi called the incident “regrettable” during a news conference Monday in Tokyo, saying it had caused “significant anxiety” among local residents.
“We have transmitted our regret to the U.S. side and requested strict discipline to prevent recurrences,” he said.
The Marine Corps did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Under Japan’s justice system, police make arrests, but only prosecutors determine whether formal charges will be filed. Stars and Stripes is withholding the Marine’s name because he has not been charged.
