Daily Archives: August 8, 2009

Bringing an end to the biggest celebrity manhunt Japan has seen in years, actress/singer Sakai Noriko (38) turned herself in at a Tokyo police station tonight. On the run for six days following her husband’s arrest for drug possession, the details are yet to emerge of “Noripi’s” escapade other than she was at the Tokyo home of an acquaintance when she called her lawyer this evening. On his advice she appeared at a police facility near the Tomizaka station in Bunkyo Ward at about 7:55pm. After brief questioning, she confessed to the charges of drug use and at around 9:30pm she was transferred to the Shibuya station (photo). Only now are related stories emerging about Noripi’s change in behavior since her marriage ten years ago to Takaso Yuichi (41), a self-proclaimed pro surfer and business owner. Early last year a tattoo was spotted on her left ankle, something not considered in keeping with her pure and innocent image. Showbiz sources say she had lost a lot of weight and was behaving erratically lately.

Tokyo police have found all the evidence they need to prove that actress/singer Sakai Noriko (38) was a user of methamphetamine. In a search of her home they found not only carelessly hidden drugs but also the paraphenalia for using them. A test revealed Sakai’s DNA, confirming her husband’s statement that they had taken drugs together. Sakai is still on the run, with her last known location thought to be in Yamanashi Prefecture. It has been revealed that on Sunday night, immediately after she refused to allow police to search her or to accompany them to the police station for a urine test, she withdrew several hundred thousand yen from a convenience store ATM. She is known to have bought underwear and cosmetics and returned briefly to her home before going into hiding. Her husband was arrested on the spot on Sunday night, and an arrest warrant for Sakai was issued on Thursday.

It was also revealed yesterday that Sakai’s younger brother Takeshi (30) was recently arrested on a drug charge, though the incidents are thought to be unrelated. Takeshi is a member of the Yamaguchi Gumi organized crime organization in Fukuoka, his family’s hometown. He was arrested on June 29 for using threats of violence to take a car and cash from an acquaintance. While he was on bail in that case, police thought his behavior suspicious and subjected him to a urine test. When that test proved positive for MDMA, he was arrested on July 17. His court case is due to begin August 28.

Not only is actor Oshio Manabu facing likely jail time, but there won’t be a wife tying yellow ribbons for him while he’s inside. Actress Yada Akiko (30) yesterday faxed a statement to the media saying she had filed for divorce from Oshio (31), less than a week after his arrest for drug use. The couple had been separated for about six months and Yada acknowledged that the reasons included Oshio’s extra-marital affairs, their “incompatible values,” and the ongoing effect on her son and other people around her. There have been reports that the woman whose death is at the center of the ongoing investigation, rather than pursuing Oshio for his fame and money in fact felt she was being stalked by the bad-boy actor and musician. Her family and friends, who attended her funeral during the week, have expressed their anger at Oshio’s seeming refusal to take responsibility for her death. The media has also been critical of his statements to police, in which he has insinuated that the woman coerced him into taking MDMA (ecstasy) and that it was the advice of an acquaintance that made him abandon her body in the luxury Roppongi apartment where she died, naked on a bed. In her statement yesterday, Yada apologized for her ex’s behavior but said she was not ready to speak to the press in person. The couple married in November 2006 and had a child the next year.

Earlier stories:

Oshio Manabu Faces Drug Arrest (Aug 4, 2009)