Four teenagers were killed Monday morning when the car they were riding in slammed into a utility poll on the side of a road in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, police said.
The four dead are company worker Masaki Nakazato, 19, construction worker Daishi Masumoto, 19, and high school students Naomi Shidahara and Kaori Tsutsui, both 17, according to police.
The four were riding in the back seat of the car being driven by another 19-year-old construction worker at the time of the collision. The five were friends and were returning from a Christmas party.
Police arrested the driver for negligence resulting in the deaths. The man sustained only minor injuries in the accident, which occurred shortly after 5 a.m.