The pilot, who works for Japan Airlines, was arrested on October 28 after failing a breath test, the BBC reported.
A 42-year-old Japanese pilot who was arrested at Heathrow Airport for being drunk has admitted being more than nine times the legal alcohol limit.
The pilot, who works for Japan Airlines, was arrested on October 28 after failing a breath test, the BBC reported.
He was found to have 189mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system - the legal limit for a pilot is 20mg.
The first officer pleaded guilty to exceeding the alcohol limit and was remanded in custody for sentencing on November 29.
The airline has apologised for the breach and admitted that an in-house breath test was not conducted properly.
The airline said the pilot drank two bottles of wine and five cans of beer for six hours from 6 pm the night before the flight to Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that police were alerted by the driver of a crew bus who smelled alcohol on the pilot.
He had been due to be part of a crew flying Japan Airlines (JAL) flight JL44 to Tokyo but failed a breath test 50 minutes before the departure time.
The Boeing 777 aircraft took off after an hour’s delay.
JAL issued an apology and pledged to "implement immediate actions to prevent any future occurrence", adding, "safety remains our utmost priority".
The JAL incident comes after a spate of alcohol-related incidents involving pilots.
All Nippon Airways apologised Wednesday for flight delays in Okinawa because a pilot became unwell after a night of drinking alcohol.
A Singapore Airlines flight from Melbourne to Wellington was cancelled on September 15 after the pilot failed an alcohol test.
And in June, a British Airways pilot was jailed for eight months for being caught on duty with 86mg of alcohol in his system.