ID :
77481
Fri, 08/28/2009 - 23:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/77481
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Actress Sakai indicted over drug possession, fired by agent
+
TOKYO, Aug. 28 Kyodo -
Actress and singer Noriko Sakai was indicted for alleged amphetamine possession
Friday and her management company and record label announced that they had
ditched the former pop idol.
Prosecutors indicted Sakai, 38, although there had been concern that the case
could go cold as only a small amount of the drug had been found in connection
with the charge. Sources familiar with the case said an additional indictment
on a charge of stimulant use by Sakai is expected by the end of September.
Sun Music Production Inc. President Masahisa Aizawa told a news conference
following the indictment that the company had fired Sakai, whose popularity
once extended beyond Japan to Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Her record label,
Victor Entertainment Inc., also let her go the same day.
According to the indictment, Sakai had 0.008 gram of amphetamines in her
apartment room in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Aug. 3.
The amount of amphetamines seized from her room fell short of the average 0.03
gram that habitual users take at one time, leading some experts to question
whether Sakai would be indicted.
But prosecutors went ahead after weighing the fact that the amphetamines were
carefully wrapped in aluminum foil and Sakai had said she ''kept them to use
later,'' investigative sources said, adding Sakai has admitted to the charge.
In announcing Sakai's dismissal, Sun Music's Aizawa said his company made the
''heartbreaking decision because such an antisocial act is not tolerable.'' He
said Sakai's lawyer had been notified of the decision.
Aizawa quoted the lawyer as saying that Sakai looked depressed when she was
told of her sacking and tearfully apologized ''for causing trouble.''
''There is a gap between the Sakai we know and the one reported in the media
(who used drugs),'' Aizawa said. ''But we have to admit the Sakai we've seen in
the media is also part of herself, which is heartbreaking.''
A urine test conducted after Sakai's arrest on Aug. 8 was negative, but traces
of amphetamines were later detected in her hair samples.
Sakai told investigators that she began using amphetamines after being
encouraged by her husband Yuichi Takaso, 41, and also said she fled so that
traces of amphetamines would not be found on her body after her husband was
questioned by police for alleged amphetamine possession.
Sakai went missing on the day of Takaso's arrest for amphetamine possession on
Aug. 3 and turned herself in five days later. She allegedly used a car provided
by an acquaintance and stayed in Tokyo, Kanagawa and Yamanashi prefectures.
Sakai made her debut in a TV drama in 1986 and released her first record the
next year before her popularity expanded overseas in the early 1990s. After her
marriage in 1998 and the birth of her first son in 1999, she appeared in
commercials, recreating her image as that of a good mother in a happy family.
==Kyodo
2009-08-28 22:56:10
TOKYO, Aug. 28 Kyodo -
Actress and singer Noriko Sakai was indicted for alleged amphetamine possession
Friday and her management company and record label announced that they had
ditched the former pop idol.
Prosecutors indicted Sakai, 38, although there had been concern that the case
could go cold as only a small amount of the drug had been found in connection
with the charge. Sources familiar with the case said an additional indictment
on a charge of stimulant use by Sakai is expected by the end of September.
Sun Music Production Inc. President Masahisa Aizawa told a news conference
following the indictment that the company had fired Sakai, whose popularity
once extended beyond Japan to Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Her record label,
Victor Entertainment Inc., also let her go the same day.
According to the indictment, Sakai had 0.008 gram of amphetamines in her
apartment room in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Aug. 3.
The amount of amphetamines seized from her room fell short of the average 0.03
gram that habitual users take at one time, leading some experts to question
whether Sakai would be indicted.
But prosecutors went ahead after weighing the fact that the amphetamines were
carefully wrapped in aluminum foil and Sakai had said she ''kept them to use
later,'' investigative sources said, adding Sakai has admitted to the charge.
In announcing Sakai's dismissal, Sun Music's Aizawa said his company made the
''heartbreaking decision because such an antisocial act is not tolerable.'' He
said Sakai's lawyer had been notified of the decision.
Aizawa quoted the lawyer as saying that Sakai looked depressed when she was
told of her sacking and tearfully apologized ''for causing trouble.''
''There is a gap between the Sakai we know and the one reported in the media
(who used drugs),'' Aizawa said. ''But we have to admit the Sakai we've seen in
the media is also part of herself, which is heartbreaking.''
A urine test conducted after Sakai's arrest on Aug. 8 was negative, but traces
of amphetamines were later detected in her hair samples.
Sakai told investigators that she began using amphetamines after being
encouraged by her husband Yuichi Takaso, 41, and also said she fled so that
traces of amphetamines would not be found on her body after her husband was
questioned by police for alleged amphetamine possession.
Sakai went missing on the day of Takaso's arrest for amphetamine possession on
Aug. 3 and turned herself in five days later. She allegedly used a car provided
by an acquaintance and stayed in Tokyo, Kanagawa and Yamanashi prefectures.
Sakai made her debut in a TV drama in 1986 and released her first record the
next year before her popularity expanded overseas in the early 1990s. After her
marriage in 1998 and the birth of her first son in 1999, she appeared in
commercials, recreating her image as that of a good mother in a happy family.
==Kyodo
2009-08-28 22:56:10