is a Japanese singer and actress. Under her former stage name , Sakai released her first single, on February 5, 1987, nine days short of her sixteenth birthday. Over 40,000 copies of the single were sold. She is particularly popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Her best-selling single to date is "Aoi Usagi". In August 2009, Sakai was arrested on suspicion of possession and abuse of drugs and sentenced to probation for three years. She divorced her husband after the incident and temporarily stayed away from the media circle. After her probation ended, she began rehearsals for the theater, and signed on with Office Nigun Niiba, as a first step towards returning to the media community. On May 1, 2021, she left Office Nigun Niiba and joined Smile. Biography Noriko Sakai was born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. She made her debut as an idol singer in 1986. Sakai released her first single, on February 5, 1987, nine days short of her sixteenth birthday. Over 40,000 copies of the single were sold. In the early years of her career, she used the nickname , although around the mid-1990s she started to distance herself from it. She ventured overseas in the 1990s to Taiwan to shoot VITALON P beverage commercials, as well as holding concerts which received praise. Sakai returned to the public attention after 1993, where she received recognition for her acting in Hitotsu Yane no Shita as Kashiwagi Koyuki. In 1995, she acted in Hoshi no Kinka (Heaven's Coins) as Aya Kuramoto, also singing the theme song which became her best selling album to date. By the end of 1998 she organized the Asian concert tours throughout Taiwan, mainland China, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries in the regions. Personal life On December 28, 1998, she suddenly held a press conference, announcing her marriage to . She and Yūichi have one son, born on July 17, 1999. Return to the entertainment industry In January 2000, after the birth of her son, Sakai made a comeback to showbiz, and gradually took on roles in movies, drama and advertising. Sakai's popularity in Japan is not outstanding, but she has considerable supporters in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. Drug scandal Sakai re-emerged in the headlines for a drug scandal on August 2, 2009, when Sakai's husband, Yūichi Takasō allegedly inhaled a small amount of stimulant drugs in a