A BUS carrying 33 tourists from Singapore and a Japanese tour conductor was involved in a head-on collision with a truck in the northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday morning.
Reports said that the drivers of the bus and truck were both killed in the crash.
Several Singapore tourists were also reported injured, but none of them were seriously hurt.
According to an update by Kyodo News, 14 people were injured, including one serious case.
The passengers were taken to several hospitals in the area and all but one have been discharged. The lone Singaporean still in hospital is under observation for two days on doctors' advice.
The collision took place at around 9.40am Japan time on National Highway Number 5, a two-lane road, in Nanae Town in the southern part of Hokkaido. The vehicles crashed near Onuma, a popular tourist spot.
The bus was heading to Sapporo.
Reports quoting an eye-witness said the collision occurred when the bus tried to avoid the truck which had veered into the opposite lane.
Travel agency Hong Thai said the Singaporeans it spoke to sounded calm and said there was no need to inform their families in Singapore. Thirty-one have asked to carry on with their itinerary.
The group left Singapore on Monday and were on Day 4 of their seven-day tour of Hokkaido. They are due to leave on Sunday.
When contacted by The Straits Times, a Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman said: "MFA is aware of the case. Our Embassy in Tokyo is working with the local Japanese authorities to render consular assistance to the affected Singaporeans."
