A Marine Corps Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, like the one shown here at Camp Hansen, Feb. 16, 2025, was involved in a crash on the Okinawa Expressway in Japan on Dec. 20, 2025. (Alora Finigan/U.S. Marine Corps)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A U.S. Marine Corps vehicle collided with an Okinawa driving school sedan on the Okinawa Expressway over the weekend, injuring the driving instructor, according to the Marines and police.
The crash occurred at 2:56 p.m. Saturday in rainy conditions in Okinawa city, a spokesman with the Okinawa Prefectural Police said by phone Monday. The incident involved a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and a four-door sedan, a second police spokesman said by phone the same day.
The car’s driver, an 18-year-old driving school student, was uninjured, according to police. The 60-year-old instructor in the passenger seat suffered a bruise on his right arm and was taken to an unidentified hospital in central Okinawa.
The JLTV driver, a 21-year-old, unidentified Marine assigned to Camp Hansen, was uninjured, the first spokesman said.
A base model JLTV weighs about 7 tons, according to Oshkosh Defense, the vehicle maker. The average Japanese mid-size, four-door sedan weighs an average 1.8 tons, according to carfromjapan.com.
First Lt. Heather Born, a spokeswoman for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit at Hansen, by email Monday said that Japanese and U.S. military police responded to an accident involving a Marine Corps vehicle.
The Marine Corps is “fully cooperating with local authorities,” Born said. She declined to provide further information, citing an ongoing investigation.
“The Marine Corps takes road safety seriously and puts a great deal of time and effort into ensuring our Marines are educated and capable vehicle operators,” she said.
The JLTV entered the expressway at the Okinawa-Kita interchange toll booth and merged into the right lane toward the Kyoda interchange when it rear-ended the car, causing it to spin, the first spokesman said. The JLTV then struck the car’s front, then collided with the guardrails and a light pole, he added.
A witness reported the accident to police, the first spokesman said.
Some Japanese government officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
AloJapan.com