As expected, Noriko Sakai's drug scandal has dealt a big blow to her career. In the past several days, Sakai has been formally indicted, dismissed from her agency, and dropped by her record label.
On August 28, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office indicted Sakai for possession of illegal stimulants. She is expected to be additionally charged with use of illegal stimulants.
After her indictment was made public, Sun Music president Masahisa Aizawa held an emergency press conference to announce the agency's dismissal of Sakai. It was also revealed that her record label, Victor Entertainment, officially terminated all of her CD and DVD contracts. The label had already canceled her upcoming best album and pulled her entire catalog from store shelves.
Over the weekend, Sun Music stated that it will take financial responsibility for the broken contracts caused by the scandal, which appears to be an estimated total of 500 million yen. This includes the contracts with Victor Entertainment, commercial contracts with Arax and Toyota, and merchandise contracts related to Sakai's fashion brand "PP rikorino."
Sakai admitted last week that after the arrest of her husband, Yuichi Takaso, she had tried to hide away until the drugs were no longer detectable by a urine test. Police also note that she took further actions to cover up her drug use, such as cutting and dyeing her hair.
The singer said that she had previously thought of quitting, but found herself addicted and unable to stop using the drugs. She explained that she had started 3-4 years ago, finding that it helped her overcome her fatigue from work, but her usage gradually increased over time.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Noriko Sakai dismissed by Sun Music after indictment
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comment:
Post a Comment