POP idol turned actress Noriko Sakai pleaded guilty yesterday to possessing and taking illegal drugs on the first day of her trial at the Tokyo District Court, reported Japanese newspaper Japan Today.

Sakai, 38, is charged with smoking a stimulant drug around July 30 at a hotel on Amamioshima Island, which she visited with her family to see a solar eclipse.

She is also charged with possessing 0.008g of the drug on Aug 3 at her home in Tokyo's Minamiaoyama district, said the newspaper.

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