A massive pileup involving 67 vehicles on the Kan-Etsu Expressway in Gunma Prefecture's Minakami town on Friday night left two dead and 26 injured. The accident is believed to have been caused by a frozen road surface, with a fire breaking out. The Tokyo-bound lane partially reopened early Sunday.
Around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 27, 2025, a major pileup involving 67 vehicles occurred on the outbound lane (Niigata-bound) of the Kan-Etsu Expressway near the Minakami Interchange in Minakami town, Gunma Prefecture. Two people were killed, and 26 were injured, with five suffering serious injuries and 21 others sustaining minor ones.
The incident is believed to have started when a large truck collided with a midsize truck that had stopped sideways on the two-lane road. This sparked a fire in one vehicle, which spread to a total of 20 vehicles. The crash site stretched about 300 meters along a slight left curve. At the time, the speed limit was reduced to 50 kph due to snow.
One fatality was identified as Miyuki Wakita, 77, from Chofu in western Tokyo, who was in the back seat of a car driven by a family member. The other victim was found in the driver's seat of a truck on Saturday morning.
The Niigata-bound lane between Minakami and Tsukiyono interchanges has been closed since Friday. East Nippon Expressway Co. expects full reopening by 1 p.m. Sunday. Meanwhile, the Tokyo-bound section from Yuzawa Interchange in Niigata Prefecture to Tsukiyono Interchange in Gunma was cleared of restrictions at 12:45 a.m. Sunday, though the Tsukiyono-Minakami section on the Niigata-bound lane remains closed.
According to the Japan Road Traffic Information Center, the frozen road surface likely caused vehicles to skid. This accident underscores the risks of winter driving on expressways.
