Actress Noriko Sakai
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese actress Noriko Sakai turned herself in to Tokyo police and was arrested on drug charges on Saturday, Aug. 8, according to local broadcaster NHK.
The 38-year-old actress had been missing since her husband was arrested earlier this week for alleged drug possession.
Sakai, whose disappearance sparked a media frenzy in Japan and other Asian countries, was well-known throughout the region, especially in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, because of her songs and TV dramas during the 1990s.
Tokyo police said Saturday night that they could not immediately confirm the report.
Sakai’s husband, Yuichi Takaso, 41, was stopped in central Tokyo earlier in the week by police, who allegedly found drugs when they searched him, according to reports.
Questions concerning Sakai’s whereabouts have dominated headlines since Takaso’s arrest, with her mother-in-law asking police to search for her. The president of her management agency held a news conference and urged her to not go through the difficult time by herself. ♦