Noriko Sakai Arrested!

[Zemus]

It seems Victor (her record label) forgot to remove one compiliation album from iTunes that included some of her music. 碧いうさぎ (Aoi Usagi), originally released in 1995, was #1 on iTunes Japan song rankings yesterday and two of her other songs were ranked #16 and #18. However, Victor removed those as soon as they realized.

Fans are still showing support, good.

[SunshineSlayer]

I heard about this from my boyfriend yesterday. He says lots of people are saying she is strongly involved with the Yakuza.

[Zemus]

^ Yeah, that's because her brother and father were members of the Yakuza apparently. Here are some recent information and rumors:

• Sakai's latest testimony says she also visited Hakone during her disappearance, as well as Tokyo's Chiyoda and Minato wards. It is also looks like she was moving around with her stepmother. This is the woman who remarried her father in Yamanashi. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is also the mother of Sakai's brother, who was arrested last month for drugs in a separate incident in Fukuoka. (The brother is a yakuza member, and it's also been reported that her father was in the yakuza as well.)
• Takaso claims to have bought the meth from an Iranian dealer.
• Police may not yet be able to get a clear-cut conviction against Sakai, due to lack of enough evidence. As a result, the trial may be postponed. Incidentally, Sun Music looks like they may keep Sakai's contract after all if that happens.
• Although Sakai claims to have only used the drugs a few times starting last summer, Takaso's testimony disagrees with her statement regarding the extent of her drug use. Apparently he says that he had been using the drugs for several years, and that he believes Sakai was doing it on her own as well. It's possible that this can be consistent with his admission that he suggested they do the drugs together last summer.
• A rumor from Shukan Gendai (but highly unconfirmed) says that according to a source in the club scene, Sakai did not just meth, but also other drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. The article also supposedly gets a statement from one of her drug sources, who says that she gained the nickname "Shiroi Usagi" because of the white powder (cocaine) that was often absentmindedly left on her nose.
• After Victor's recall of her CDs, prices have now shot up for existing copies, with prices reaching 14,500 and 32,000 yen on Amazon for a best album. It is also expected that from now on, auctions of her CDs will fetch high prices.

Source: migimaru@Tokyograph

Quite interesting that Sun Music actually might re-consider to keep her contract now.

[Amrai-chan]

There seems to be a press conference thing going on about her now. This guy read of a statement. Basicly the only part I caught was being 'really sorry'. It's on TBS. Is anyone else watching this?

[Maemi]

OMG O_O I can't believe it!