Ex-Morning Musume singer Yoshizawa admits drinking more than 3 cans of 'chuhai' before hit-and-run

Japan Today -- Sep 14

Hitomi Yoshizawa, 33, a former member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume, who was arrested on Sept 6 for driving under the influence of alcohol in a hit-and-run incident in Tokyo, has admitted she drank more than three cans of chuhai (fruit-flavored alcoholic cocktail) before the incident.

According to police, Yoshizawa drove through a red light at around 7 a.m. in Nakano Ward and hit a female cyclist in her 20s, who was flung into a male pedestrian, injuring him. Yoshizawa kept going, but called police about 15 minutes later and returned to the scene.

Police said that Yoshizawa told them she drank three canned cocktails, but on Wednesday, it was learned that she has since confessed to consuming more alcohol than she initially stated, Fuji TV reported. Furthermore, a breath analysis detected the former idol singer to be four times above the blood alcohol limit for driving after her arrest.