Court accepts request to release actress Sakai on bail

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TOKYO, Sept. 14 Kyodo -
The Tokyo District Court accepted Monday a request from the lawyer of actress
Noriko Sakai to release her on 5 million yen bail after prosecutors filed an
additional charge against her last week for alleged stimulant-drug use.
The release of Sakai is expected to take place Tuesday or later as the bail was
not paid Monday, judicial sources said.
Sakai, a 38-year-old former pop idol, has been detained at the Tokyo Wangan
Police Station since her arrest Aug. 8 for alleged stimulant-drug possession.
The first hearing of her trial is scheduled for Oct. 26 at the Tokyo District
Court.
She was first indicted Aug. 28 for possessing stimulant drugs at her home. Last
Friday, the prosecutors filed an additional charge of smoking stimulant drugs
around July 30 at a hotel on Amamioshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, to which
she traveled with her family to observe a solar eclipse.
Her husband Yuichi Takaso, 41, a self-styled professional surfer, has also been
charged with stimulant-drug use and possession. His request for bail filed
Monday has not been accepted.
==Kyodo