Tatsuya Yamaguchi, a former member of the Japanese all-male pop group Tokio, was released from custody on Thursday, two days after he was arrested for allegedly riding a motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol.
Yamaguchi, 48, was arrested after his motorbike hit a car waiting at a traffic light in Tokyo's Nerima Ward around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday and was sent to prosecutors on Thursday.
Investigative sources have quoted him as saying he had five or six glasses of "shochu" distilled spirit for about three hours from 9 p.m. by himself at his home the night before the arrest. He was on his way to a relative's house a few kilometers away when he caused the accident.
"I was aware that I had some alcohol left in me. I didn't think I would get caught as long as I didn't have an accident," he was quoted by the sources as telling investigators.
The police, who were called to the scene by the driver of the car, arrested Yamaguchi after a breathalyzer test revealed an alcohol content about five times the legal limit.
Yamaguchi was a member of Tokio, which released its debut album in 1994, until the group's talent agency Johnny & Associates terminated his contract in 2018 for forcibly kissing a female high school student, who he met through work, at his home.
However, the prosecutors did not indict him as, according to other sources, the girl was believed to have withdrawn her victim report.
He said at a press conference in 2018 that he had consumed alcohol at the time of the incident.
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