Two people, including a 41-year-old member of the popular Japanese boy band Exile, were severely injured in an auto accident near Hakodate, Hokkaido, shortly after midnight Friday, police said.
A people carrier carrying seven people, including band member Daisuke Maki, widely known by his stage name Makidai, collided with a large truck on a road in the town of Nanae around 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
Young-Kee Yu, better known as Verbal, from hip hop music unit m-flo, and Norihisa Kitamura, known as DJ Daruma, were also in the vehicle and were injured.
It was exiting the parking lot of a roadside convenience store when it collided with the oncoming truck, police said, adding that the road was icy at the time.
Maki and the others were on their way to perform at a concert of Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe, another popular dance and vocal group, in Sapporo, but the concert was canceled following the accident.
