Three university students were killed and three others were injured early Monday in a head-on collision in Hokkaido, police said.
A car driven by an 18-year-old student swerved into the opposite lane and crashed into another car being driven by Takanori Murata, 29, around 12:20 a.m. on a road in the town of Tsubetsu.
There were four passengers in the student's car, including Daiki Iwasaki, 19, and Yutaka Hisama, 18.
The three students were rushed to a nearby hospital but were pronounced dead soon afterward. The remaining two passengers in the student's car and Murata suffered injuries, the police said. The name of the 18-year-old driver was withheld because he is a minor.
The police believe speeding caused the accident.