Bus Carrying 40 Passengers Catches Fire on Chuo Expressway; All Evacuate Safely

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:29 JST, February 18, 2026

A fire broke out near the engine room of a bus traveling from Shinjuku to Lake Yamanaka in Yamanashi Prefecture on the Chuo Expressway in Hino, Tokyo, at around 9 a.m. on Wednesday. The rear section of the bus was burned. All 40 passengers, including foreigners, evacuated the vehicle and were unharmed.

According to the Hino Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department, the bus driver said, “A warning sound went off while driving, and white smoke rose inside the vehicle.”