American military forces in Japan banned from alcohol use after deadly car crash

People stage a rally in front of the main gate of the Camp Schwab of the US Marine Corps in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on September 16, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

All American military forces in Japan have been banned from buying and consuming alcohol following a deadly road crash caused by a drunk US Marine in Okinawa, a tropical island prefecture rife with deep anti-US sentiments.

Nicholas James-McLean, 20, was driving a US military truck under influence of alcohol in Naha, the main city on the southern Japanese island, late on Sunday, when he crashed into another vehicle, resulting in the death of its driver Hidemasa Taira, 61, said Kazuhiko Miyagi of the Okinawa police.

Miyagi confirmed that a breath test indicated James-McLean had an alcohol level that was three times the legal limit.

The US Marine, who was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road, sustained light injuries in the crash.

A damaged vehicle, whose driver was killed in accident caused by a drunk US Marine, is placed at a police station in Naha, Okinawa, southern Japan Sunday, November 19, 2017. (Photo by AP)

The Japanese government, for its part, expressed regret over the deadly incident.

It called on US military leadership to take measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

“The Defense 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 had expressed his condolences and offered an apology, Suga added.

The US military said “alcohol may have been a factor” in the crash and banned US military personnel all over Japan from buying and consuming it for the time being.

In addition, US military forces on Okinawa Island were restricted to base or home until further notice.

The Japanese island hosts around 26,000 US military personnel, about half of the total complement of the United States Forces Japan, spread among 32 bases and 48 training sites.

The US military further said commanders across Japan had been instructed to immediately lead mandatory training on responsible alcohol use and acceptable behavior.

“When our service members fail to live up to the high standards we set for them, it damages the bonds between bases and local communities and makes it harder for us to accomplish our mission,” the US Forces Japan said in a statement posted on its website.

US forces have a long history of unruly behavior and criminal acts in Japan, prompting a large part of the Japanese population to demand their withdrawal from the country.

Numerous anti-US protests have been held in the country over the past years.

In April 2016, an American at the Okinawa air base was charged with the murder of a 20-year-old Japanese woman.

Back in 2013, two American sailors admitted to raping a woman in Okinawa a year earlier in a case that sparked huge anti-US sentiments in Japan.

In 1995, the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US servicemen triggered massive protests, prompting Washington to pledge efforts to strengthen troop discipline to prevent such crimes and reduce US footprint on the island.