Arts & Entertainment

A record number of people queue in the rain for public gallery seats for the first hearing of Noriko Sakai's trial in Tokyo on Monday morning. (Mainichi)

Public prosecutors demanded that actress Noriko Sakai be sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment for drug use and possession as her trial opened in the Tokyo District Court on Monday.

Sakai, real name Takaso, is charged with violating the Stimulants Control Law.

"As a famous entertainer, she failed to reflect on her social position, and she deserves harsh criticism," a representative of the prosecution said. Lawyers for the 38-year-old actress have requested that she be handed a suspended sentence. A ruling is expected on Nov. 9.

Noriko Sakai (Mainichi)

During Monday's trial hearing, Sakai said there was no doubt about the charges against her. She is accused of inhaling a small amount of stimulants in a hotel on Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture around July 30, and being in possession of 0.008 grams of stimulants at her apartment in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Aug. 3.

Sakai's husband Yuichi Takaso, a self-proclaimed professional surfer, was arrested on Aug. 3, a day after being questioned by police on a street in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward and being found in possession of stimulants. He is also on trial facing drug charges, with a ruling on his case set for Nov. 27.

Sakai turned up at the scene when Takaso was questioned, but she left after police asked her to accompany them to Shibuya Police Station, and later attempts to contact her were unsuccessful. On Aug. 3, police searched Sakai's apartment and found a small amount of stimulants. They obtained an arrest warrant for the actress on Aug. 7.

After going on the run in Tokyo, Yamanashi and Kanagawa prefectures, Sakai turned herself to Tokyo police on Aug. 8 and was arrested.

Sakai was sacked by her talent agency, Sun Music, on Aug. 28, after she was charged with drug possession. She was released from custody on Sept. 17, after additional charges were laid against her. In a news conference after her release she gave a tearful apology, saying, "Succumbing to my own weakness, I gave in to drugs which I should never have touched. I vow to repent of my crime and never get involved in them again." She was temporarily hospitalized after her release.

Sakai made her entertainment debut in 1987 at the age of 15. She gained popularity under the name "Noripii" and appeared in popular dramas such as "Hitotsu Yane no Shita" and "Hoshi no Kinka." After getting married in 1998, she continued to appear in television commercials, and acted as a goodwill ambassador between Japan and China.

Ahead of Monday's hearing a total of 6,615 people had lined up in Tokyo's Hibiya Park for 20 public gallery seats -- a record high of 330.75 applicants for every seat.