US Air Force captain arrested in Okinawa over drunk driving

Japanese police arrested a 27-year-old US Air Force captain in Okinawa on Saturday on suspicion of drunk driving, an Okinawa prefectural police spokesman said.

The spokesman said the captain was driving on a road in Okinawa City at about 3:09 am. He said it was not clear whether the case violated a curfew imposed by US officials.

Kyodo News reported that the captain was assigned to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. Officials at the base were not immediately available for comment.

The arrest came a week after Japan and the United States agreed on measures aimed at preventing crimes by US service members on Okinawa after a murder case allegedly involving an American Marine. US officials also said last week they would extend a curfew to some lower-ranking service members through December 7 and ban all service members from drinking alcohol outside their homes between midnight and 5 am.

The US military has about 54,000 personnel stationed in Japan, most of them on Okinawa. Crimes by service members have caused strain between the allies.