Now that Sakai Noriko has finally started confessing to what she did instead of the attitude she displayed on Saturday, this should probably be the last update to her case until she goes to court or new significant developments arise.
Due to Sakai Noriko being arrested for possession and usage of stimulants, her record company, Victor Entertainment announced on 9 August that they were stopping all future releases of Sakai's CDs and recalling all available stock in the market. There will no longer be any shipments of her CDs to the record stores. In addition, distribution of her songs via online media like iTunes Store will be stopped. As a result, Sakai's hit song "Aoi Usagi" shot up the daily downloads chart on iTunes on 10 August (as at 1pm) to a high position of No.2 before it was taken down by the site. In addition, her albums "Sekaichuu no Dare Yori Kitto" and "Daisuki - My Moment Best" were also ranked No.4 and No.5 on the Top Albums chart. As of now, none of Sakai's songs can be found on iTunes anymore.
Meanwhile, Sakai Noriko revealed further details about her drug abuse habit. She mentioned that she was persuaded by her husband to try the stimulants since last summer. Her husband Takasou Yuichi has also confessed to buying the stimulants from a foreigner and mentioned that he always noticed that Sakai looked thinner whenever he met her. Although Sakai said that she was pretty new to the drug, the fact that there were at least 42 straws, a glass pipe and used aluminium foil meant for drug consumption found in her apartment seems to suggest that she has been a long-time user. She also mentioned that she had been following news reports of her case through TV and had wanted to go to the police in the first place. However, when she sent her friend to see the situation outside the Shibuya Police Station, she was aghast to know that the media was there in huge numbers. (Well, this is really obvious given the hoo-ha over the case. Surely it doesn't take a genius to realise that, right?) Just when she was still deliberating on whether to show up, news of the arrest warrant startled her so she decided that it was time for her to surrender. She contacted a lawyer through her friend who then informed the police that Sakai was preparing to turn herself in.
When investigators asked Sakai why she disappeared, she said that she was shaken by her husband's arrest. She also mentioned that she was in the Shinjuku and Chuo Wards of Tokyo as well as Yamanashi Prefecture during her 6-day disappearance.
According to the police station, Sakai was sent to the Prosecutors' Office today and will held in custody until 19 August. Her case is unlikely to be tried under the jury system which only handles cases with punishment leading to life imprisonment or the death sentence. In this case, the imprisonment term will not exceed 10 years if she is found guilty. However, her urine test results are negative which could make it difficult to prosecute her in court for consumption of the stimulant especially if she changes her statement in future.
As an aftermath to the scandal, sponsors are terminating their dealings with Sakai and may file for damages amounting to at least 1 billion yen against her and her agency. Her record company Victor Entertainment has already recalled her CD and visual releases and stopped all distribution of her songs via digital media stores. In addition, the promotional movie for the jury system has been banned from release so the government stands to lose more than 70 million yen just based on the production costs alone. Toyota has also cancelled their CM deal with Sakai. Another company Noushin which produces aspirins is also planning to cancel their CM deal. If both companies decide to sue her and her agency for breach of contract, compensation damages may be more than 100 million yen. Last but not least, the fashion brand which Sakai had produced i.e. PP rikorino had its merchandise pulled off the shelves by supermarkets across the country as early as on 8 August.
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