US marine accused in drink drive case as Japanese man dies

A Japanese man was killed in a truck collision involving a 21-year-old US marine who was well over the legal alcohol limit for driving, police said of a case that was likely to stoke resentment over the US military presence on the southern island of Okinawa.

In response to the Sunday’s fatal accident, US forces in Japan banned, until further notice, all personnel in the country from drinking of alcohol, Reuters news agency reported.

“The Defence and Foreign Ministries have lodged a stern representation to the US forces in Japan and the US embassy in Japan, asking for the enforcement of discipline, prevention of recurrence and sincere response to the bereaved,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference on Monday.

US Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty expressed his condolences and offered an apology, Suga said.

The accident occurred at an intersection in the city of Naha early Sunday morning. The marine was driving a military truck, and the 61-year-old crash victim was in a light truck.

The Japanese man was later pronounced dead, while the US serviceman, who was arrested for the fatal accident and driving under the influence of alcohol, suffered scratches, a police official in Naha said.

The official said a breath test showed the marine was as much as three times over the legal limit for alcohol.