role for the sequel of Pikanchi Life Is Hard Dakedo Happy, . In 2007, all the members of Arashi co-starred in their third movie together, , with Sakurai playing the role of an aspiring writer. In 2014, in a third installment of the Pikanchi movies, called , Sakurai reprises his role, now as an adult Chu, who has settled down and started a family. In 2002, in the drama Kisarazu Cat's Eye, he took on the role of Bambi, a college student who becomes part of a burglar ring at the beckoning of his cancer-stricken friend Bussan (played by Junichi Okada) to make his final days worthwhile. The drama would eventually span into two movie sequels entitled Kisarazu Cat's Eye: Nihon Series and Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series in 2003 and 2006 respectively. While training for a rowing competition with the rest of Arashi on their variety show Mago Mago Arashi in 2005, Sakurai filmed his first starring movie role in the manga-based live-action film Honey and Clover. He portrayed the mellow . By the end of 2007, it was announced that he would star as Gan-chan in the Takashi Miike movie Yatterman, which was not released in theaters until the beginning of 2009. It was announced on June 8, 2010 that Sakurai would co-star with Aoi Miyazaki in the novel-based movie , released in theaters in 2011. It would be the first time Sakurai portrayed a doctor. A sequel for the movie, hit theaters in 2014. In the first movie, Dr. Ichito Kurihara (Sakurai) was struggling with work life in a countryside hospital on the alert 365 days a year. In the sequel, his struggles between family life and work life are accentuated when Ichito's friend from college, also a physician, Tatsuya Shindo (portrayed by Tatsuya Fujiwara), comes to Ichito's hospital from Tokyo. On June 4, 2012 the movie version of the popular drama was announced. Sakurai once again portrayed the sharp-tongued mysteries-solving butler Kageyama, co-starring with Kitagawa Keiko. The plot of the movie is a murder case that happens on a luxurious cruise ship. Besides set filming, the production team also filmed overseas in Singapore where they boarded the luxurious cruise ship SuperStar Virgo for onsite filming. The movie completed filming by end of July 2012 and is scheduled for release on August 3, 2013 in Japan. The International Gala Premiere was held in Singapore on July 27,