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.
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.
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 sixteenth birthday.
Sakai returned to the public attention after 1993, where she received recognition for her acting in Hitotsu Yane no Shita as Kashiwagi Koyuki.
In 1995, she acted in Hoshi no Kinka (Heaven's Coins) as Aya Kuramoto, also singing the theme song "Aoi Usagi" (碧いうさぎ, "blue rabbit") which became her best selling album to date.
By the end of 1998 she organized the Asian concert tours throughout Taiwan, mainland China, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries in the regions.
[4] In January 2000, after the birth of her son, Sakai made a comeback to showbiz, and gradually took on roles in movies, drama and advertising.
Sakai's popularity in Japan is not outstanding, but she has considerable supporters in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China.
As early as ten days prior to his arrest, the two of them used drugs while on a family trip to Amami Ōshima in Kagoshima Prefecture.
[6] On August 5, 2009, Sakai dropped her son off with an unnamed friend, purchased some underwear and other necessities from a store, and then disappeared.
[17] On August 19, 2009, investigators announced that Sakai's hair tested positive for the stimulant drug, although the results were weak.
Accompanied by her attorney, and with Sun Music Vice President Masahisa Aizawa in attendance, she apologized to the public during a press conference.
[22] Sakai attended the University of Creation; Art, Music & Social Work in Takasaki, Gunma, where she received her degree in welfare and nursing care in March 2013.
[24] On August 6, 2009, car manufacturer Toyota reportedly stopped showing a commercial, featuring Sakai, on its web site.
[26] Other Sakai songs among the top 100 downloads include Kagami no Doresu (17th) and Sekaijū no Dare Yori Kitto (18th).
[27] Online stores such as Amazon Japan still sold Sakai's CDs and DVDs, despite increasing the selling prices as a result of Victor's move.
Immediately after the indictment announcement, Sun Music, the talent agency who has represented Sakai since 1986, suspended her contract and removed her official website from its server.
[31] At a news conference on November 24, 2012, Sakai announced her return to the entertainment industry, after finishing her suspended sentence that ended earlier Friday.