U.S. military personnel in Japan ordered to avoid alcohol, confined to base after apparent DWI fatality

On Sunday night, the U.S. military ordered all service members in Okinawa to stay on base or at their off-base residence and banned alcohol consumption by all service members on mainland Japan at all times and in all places, following a fatal crash early Sunday morning. In the crash, an unidentified U.S. Marine and a 61-year-old Japanese man collided in Naha, Okinawa prefecture, killing the Japanese man and leaving the Marine slightly injured. Kazuhiko Miyagi of the Okinawa police told Voice of America that the Marine's blood alcohol level registered three times the legal limit in a breath test.

About half of the 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan are on Okinawa, and their presence has met with local resistance, especially after U.S. military personnel behave badly off base. Sunday's order mandated training on responsible alcohol consumption, risk management, and other acceptable behaviors not just for military personnel but also U.S. government civilians stationed Japan.

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