Tokyo-Bound Section on Kan-Etsu Expwy Opened After Massive Pileup; Niigata-Bound Lane Set to Be Fully Operational

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:58 JST, December 28, 2025

A section of the Tokyo-bound lane on the Kan-Etsu Expressway was opened in the small hours of Sunday in Gunma Prefecture, according to the Japan Road Traffic Information Center, following a massive pileup involving 67 vehicles on Friday.

Restrictions on the section were lifted at 12:45 a.m. from Yuzawa Interchange in Niigata Prefecture to Tsukiyono Interchange in Gunma Prefecture.

Two people died in the pileup, which occurred in Minakami, Gunma Prefecture, on the lane bound for Niigata Prefecture.

The Tsukiyono-Yuzawa section was also closed on the Niigata-bound lane. Restrictions were also lifted early Sunday for most of that section, but the Tsukiyono- Minakami section remains closed.

All restrictions are expected to be lifted at 1 p.m. on the day, East Nippon Expressway Co. said.