1. Under her former stage name Nori-P, Sakai released her first single, "Otoko no Ko ni Naritai" on February 5,1987, nine days short of her sixteenth birthday.
23 Facts About Noriko Sakai
1. 2.
Noriko Sakai is particularly popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
3.
Noriko Sakai divorced her husband Yuichi Takaso after the incident and temporarily stayed away from the media circle.
4.
Noriko Sakai made her debut as an idol singer in 1986.
5.
Noriko Sakai released her first single, "Otoko no Ko ni Naritai" on February 5,1987, nine days short of her sixteenth birthday.
6.
Noriko Sakai ventured overseas in the 1990s to Taiwan to shoot VITALON P beverage commercials, as well as holding concerts which received praise.
7.
Noriko Sakai returned to the public attention after 1993, where she received recognition for her acting in Hitotsu Yane no Shita as Kashiwagi Koyuki.
8.
Noriko Sakai and Yuichi have one son, born on July 17,1999.
9.
In January 2000, after the birth of her son, Noriko Sakai made a comeback to showbiz, and gradually took on roles in movies, drama and advertising.
10.
Noriko Sakai re-emerged in the headlines for a drug scandal on August 2,2009, when Noriko Sakai's husband, Yuichi Takaso allegedly inhaled a small amount of stimulant drugs in a public lavatory, at a park in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
11.
Noriko Sakai was asked to go to the police station for further questions and to submit to a urine test.
12.
At the time of Takaso's arrest, Noriko Sakai was living in her own apartment in Tokyo.
13.
Noriko Sakai later claimed that the cell phone was damaged, and that she threw the phone away.
14.
The official charge against Noriko Sakai was "suspicion of possessing stimulant drugs," according to a Tokyo police official.
15.
Noriko Sakai admitted to the drugs being in her apartment, but did not admit to taking the drugs herself.
16.
Noriko Sakai allegedly used amphetamines at a hotel during her Kagoshima Prefecture visit with her husband and son.
17.
Noriko Sakai was released from jail after posting bail on September 17,2009.
18.
Noriko Sakai was checked into a hospital to overcome her drug habit, and asked for restraint from the media during her recovery.
19.
However, on August 9,2009, Victor Entertainment, the distributor of Noriko Sakai's works, withdrew Noriko Sakai's CDs from stores, and suspended downloads of her songs.
20.
Noriko Sakai claimed that she would temporarily set aside her entertainment career to partake in charity organizations.
21.
At a news conference on November 24,2012, Noriko Sakai announced her return to the entertainment industry, after finishing her suspended sentence that ended earlier Friday.
22.
Noriko Sakai returned to the stage in December 2012 as the main character in a story about the Sengoku period, ending December 25,2012.
23.
In October 2021, Noriko Sakai re-recorded "Aoi Usagi" and placed an NFT of it and promo photos on auction to promote the fourth season of the drama series Producer K, which marked her first drama appearance in eight years.