Noriko Sakai

Noriko Sakai (酒井 法子, Sakai Noriko, born February 14, 1971) is a Japanese singer and actress. Under her former stage name Nori-P (のりピー, Noripī), Sakai released her first single, "Otoko no Ko ni Naritai" (男のコになりたい, "I Want to Be a Boy") on February 5, 1987, nine days short of her seventeenth birthday. Over 40,000 copies of the single were sold. She is particularly popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Her best-selling single to date is "Aoi Usagi". In August 2009, Sakai was arrested on suspicion of possession and abuse of drugs and sentenced to probation for three years. She divorced her husband Yūichi Takasō (高相 祐一, Takasō Yūichi) after the incident and temporarily stayed away from the media circle. After her probation ended, she began rehearsals for the theater, and signed on with Office Nigun Niiba, as a first step towards returning to the media community. On May 1, 2021, she left Office Nigun Niiba and joined Smile. ()