A former member and the ex-manager of the popular rock group Four Leaves admitted Wednesday at their first Tokyo District Court hearing that they took illegal stimulant drugs.
Manabu Kameda, 47, the president of a musician management company, and Takayuki Kosaka, 42, a former manager and pub operator, have been accused of violating the Stimulants Control Law.
According to the opening statement by the prosecutors, Kameda started taking stimulants around February at the urging of Kosaka, who had been using the drugs for a long time.
On May 12, the two allegedly made a female acquaintance drink "shochu" spirits containing stimulants at Kosaka's pub in Tokyo's Minato Ward. They also used stimulants themselves June 30, prosecutors claimed.
The pair owned up to the charges.