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Police investigators find Noriko Sakai's luxury condo in filth

53 Comments

Noriko Sakai’s condo is at a prime location in Aoyama, with a 24-hour security system and a full-time concierge to attend to the needs of residents. A local real estate agent estimates the value of the popular 2-LDK property, situated at the upper level of the building complex, as 300 million yen.

However, the condo worthy is in a state of shambles beyond imagination, according to a police source. No one has lived there since Sakai was arrested on Aug 8. One investigator describes the scene he saw as follows.

“I was first stunned by the odor when we opened the entrance door. I guess it must be raw kitchen garbage, but it was a sour smell and some of our men were covering their noses with their hands.”

The police went further into the living room and then stood frozen at the sight before them. Worn clothing, magazines, empty plastic bottles and cans, some only half consumed and gone stale, littered the floor.

“The furniture looked expensive as well as the audio equipment, but all filthy with dust and cigarette stains. It sure didn’t look like the place had been cleaned properly for a year or so.”

But the police source added that judging by the state of the condo, the house search wasn’t going to take long. The sloppiness was an indication that any ‘hidden’ drugs would be easy to find.

As expected, narcotics in aluminum foils, along with a large batch of straws and a pipe were found packed in a cosmetics bag inside the dresser drawer.

“The pipe was stained with traces of vaporized cocaine and saliva identified as Sakai’s was also found on it. The evidence will certainly prove that she was using narcotics at home," said the investigator.

The unhealthy, unkempt environment that stunned even the police where she lived with her son, an elementary school student, was a stark contrast to Sakai’s image and status as the popular "mama-doru" who wrote articles for childcare magazines and played the good mother roles in TV commercials.

Physicians who specialize in the treatment of drug users agree that individuals become involved in drugs to evade confronting various problems and stress. The fact that Sakai, having become a regular user, neglected housekeeping and childcare come as no surprise.

It seems that the state of the run-down home progressed as the glitzy personal life of the "mama-doru" took a downward spiral.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

53 Comments
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Jeez the police officers find some cans and clothing on the floor and she's automatically labelled drugged-up addict. If they see my house, they might think I'm a yakuza druglord or something.

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Please report to us the condition of all homes of the Tokyo police. Or leak it to the press.

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So what. The corrupt police need to stop releasing this useless and private info to the public. It should literally be against the law.

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Shortest possible summary, or "why we already knew this."

Professional surfer marries night club DJ, has child.

All the rest can be inferred.

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she is not even famous!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Ice cream might not be a drug, but I don't believe it's not dangerously addictive.

Moderator: Back on topic please.

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nessie: Icecream is not a drug, nor is it addictive. Would you care to define narcotic?

Moderator: Forget ice cream. It is not relevant to this discussion.

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FYI narcotics: any drug that produces a numbing effect, increases pleasure or decreases pain and can become addictive.

By that definition, ice cream is a narcotic.

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FYI narcotics: any drug that produces a numbing effect, increases pleasure or decreases pain and can become addictive. examples: cocaine, heroin, cannibis, ecstasy, amphetamines...

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police stood frozen at the sight before them. Worn clothing, magazines...

AAAAAARGH! Magazines on the floor! Quickly, torch the place before they animate and kill us all!

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there seems to be "some" inconsistency of evidence

NoriPfan why not reveal it? After all this is just a forum and no one's serious here. Many of us here are just trying to have our say and laugh about some of the things. Just think who is actually in this forum? Foreigners who are married to Japanese or others who have something closely linked to Japan.Sakai"s news is actually not interesting at all, and all these details, as for me is not necessary. Outside Japan Sakai is just another human being. Ok in Taiwan, they know her as well.

So reveal this interesting piece for us.

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Good point, Dubya.

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Cocaine is not a narcotic. Neither is speed.

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We're forgetting that she was hiding out when her husband was caught. Perhaps she spent a few nights there, obviously not caring about the mess in her house and more so focused on the mess of her life. If clothing was sprawled all over the floor, she could have been searching for items to take on her escape.

The smell is explainable. In Japan's hot and humid summers, even having a closed trash bin will eventually start smelling rancid. It's like finding someone in an apartment after they have been dead for 6 weeks and saying "Jeez you smell... didn't think of showering?"

Then again, she could just have been a filthy coke smoking addict.

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empty plastic bottles and cans, some only half consumed and gone stale

Man, they really must have been high if they tried to consume cans.

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Personally, although there "appears" to be evidence of what she may have actually done, I claim much of this is circumstantial. Instead, I would be much more interested in factual witnessed evidence of those who claim they saw her bring her son to school or anywhere while clearly under the influence. Having served as a juror both in a superior court criminal trial as well as a municipal court, I would hope that Japan has similar standards. Based on alleged evidence so far as a criminal trial, it would seem to hold to a standard of "beyond a shadow of doubt" instead of merely "preponderance of evidence" which is acceptable in municipal court. So far, there seems to be "some" inconsistency of evidence I won't reveal so far.

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Well, typical crack-whore den. Guess every country has them...

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I thought these actresses did not clean by themselves but hired cleaning companies to clean their premises. Being famous and rich, she could afford a cleaning service.

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So many experts on drugs and their effects (including keeping a sloppy home) - hope J-cops don't find out who you are, or they will be round to search your homes also. This is breing blown out of all proportion to satisfy establishment's desire to bury her. And Japanese public's desire for scandal and personal stuff. Like your nosy J neighbours always spying and always wanting to know about your life. She was clearly capable of running her life (she was in the public euye all the time, for chrissakes) so why the precy nonsense about her being an addict etc etc.

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bamboohat, atleast you don't go around claiming that you are the papa-doru or something. Her ideal mother sensation could have hurt the ego of other mothers who are doing their best to survive and to take care of their kids. All this news seems like has little to do with Sakai or her life. No one actually cares. The real news about her 'mentor' is yet to be revealed.

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The police went further into the living room and then stood frozen at the sight before them. Worn clothing, magazines, empty plastic bottles and cans, some only half consumed and gone stale, littered the floor.

Sounds like my apartment. I guess to a anally retentive neat freak, a few bottles and clothes strewn about would be absolutely horrific. I guess these cops wouldn't do so well at a REAL crime scene.

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Many women don't know how to clean -maybe she was too busy being a "glitzy" mama-doru.

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"A local real estate agent estimates the value of the popular 2 LDK property as 300 million yen"

Something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

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I am so tired of this non-story. What did she do to deserve this lynching, anyway? Upset some politician? Ridiculous.

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Hey we finally know what she was on, freebasing coke it seems. Well that's why she looks ok, meth does more damage. Anyway, was this the initial search or are they still searching her various residences? This sure is a witch hunt and I still feel bad for her. I bet 50% or even more of the tarentos are on something here and who cares.

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What Northlondon said. This is what happens when you have jury trials. You go from having people convicted in the press to having people sentenced in the press. If an unkempt home is a sign of meth use, I know a lot of elderly Japanese who must be jonesing for a fix.

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Hello, Noriko Sakai character-assassination plot. Wake up everyone. This is the Japanese establishment giving Noriko Sakai another kick in the ribs whilst she is down. This is how they do it everybody. By law, the cops should not be allowed to make personal comments about the tidiness of a suspects home which may affect the outcome of a pending trial. And here we have Shukan Post (and Japan Today) joining in with the establishments media kicking.

It sure didn’t look like the place had been cleaned properly for a year or so.

Any self-respecting judge with some form of sense would throw that straight out as completely irrelevant to this case.

The police went further into the living room and then stood frozen at the sight before them. Worn clothing, magazines, empty plastic bottles and cans, some only half consumed and gone stale, littered the floor.

And that's because you banged her up in a cell for about a month you discriminating muppets !

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Guesswork in such an important case !!?? You should be ashamed. Get back to us when you can tell us exactly what was causing the smell

Maybe smelly seafood improperly disposed. Don't Japanese love seafood meals?

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Guesswork in such an important case !!?? You should be ashamed. Get back to us when you can tell us exactly what was causing the smell.

Let pray that there was not a dead animal or human in Sakai's condo.

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“I was first stunned by the odor when we opened the entrance door. I guess it must be raw kitchen garbage, but it was a sour smell and some of our men were covering their noses with their hands.”

Guesswork in such an important case !!?? You should be ashamed. Get back to us when you can tell us exactly what was causing the smell.

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kirakira, why should the place look like a tip after being uninhabited for over a month, if it wasn't a tip beforehand?

Sorry - I should have been more specific. I was referring to the rotting garbage, and the dust covering everything. I agree the clothes and half empty bottles are pretty disgusting.

Believe me I am not in support of her AT ALL - but this really truly is a witch hunt now and I just feel there are more important things going on in the world and in Japan than the state of Sakai`s lounge.

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Beelzebub, so a minor's testimony is not permitted to be published and broadcasted to the public? Oh, I see.

This Shukan Post article is telling truth, because of the revealed location of the aluminum foils. Noriko Sakai did not fight the charge for those (possession of a stimulant drug in a wrapped foil).

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The state of her room is about as newsworthy as what brand of toilet swipe bill clinton uses.

Give us all a break and move as far away from this total non-newsstory as possible.

Obviously many here have never had the jaw-dropping experience of venturing into the abodes (esp. kitchens/dining)of the multitudes in Japan. Manicured, wonderful middle class folks with dog bowl messes.

Get off the Evil Sakai bandwagon and get a life.

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Maybe Shukan Post will post an article about the boy's Sakai story soon.

Why not. I mean they've totally and completely destroyed her life, with the aid of the police, who have no business issuing press releases to try her in the media. I wouldn't be surprised to see them quote a minor about his mother.

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in the immortal words of that annoying bully on the simpsons, "hah, hah!"

live by the media, die by the media

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Maybe Shukan Post will post an article about the boy's Sakai story soon.

Never happen, Buddhism. You don't seem to be on very familiar terms with the Japanese media, tabloid or otherwise. Minors are completely off limits.

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Sakai's kid can be a valuable witness. He is a ten year old boy, intelligent and conscious enough to tell something about Sakai's parenting and habit.

Maybe Shukan Post will post an article about the boy's Sakai story soon.

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The condition of the home is a classic sign of chronic meth use.

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Hmmm...I don't know WHAT to think anymore! The media continues to feed us information to make her look guilty. From this story, we can imagine the worst--a mother, addicted to cocaine, who didn't care enough to clean her place...or we can assume the best--maybe she had a party and the maid hadn't come to tidy up yet!! Bottom line: the police source should not be giving these kinds of subjective details to the press.

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She's an addict if her place is like that. She obviously stayed in jail for 1 month after her arrest so that no one in the public could see her withdrawal symptoms and to kick the habit.

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What a chilling article. More and more nasty news relating to Sakai! I can imagine that. I initially thought that Sakai would come to clean the condo to rid the drug traces before she escaped from the police. She made a big mistake for skipping this important task because she never thought that the police was able to receive an authority to invade her place. The police certainly knew what to do, thanking to their experience.

"Vaporized cocaine"? Everyone, including myself, thought that she was only taking amphetamine. She was actually into cocaine? Maybe she did both drugs? Cocaine is a very powerful drug.

From now, Sakai should worry very much about losing custody of her kid to someone else, who is not necessarily her husband. Sakai and her husband already both screwed up badly. She has to deeply regret her bad habit for neglecting cleaniness. She is a 38 year old woman! She should know better to keep her responsibility maintained. Even moreover, she is a mother! A child does not deserve to grow in a dirty place.

Very shameful. Despite that I am a single "man" (not woman) who lives alone, my home is many times cleaner than hers! No drugs, cigarettes, alcohol cans, etc! Because I don't do any of them. My kitchen is clean often. I always wash the dishes. I just need to vacuum frequently, not less. I am close to her age. My home is only 5 million yen in the Southeastern U.S.!

A few, pretty, and discernable things in Sakai's messy home are the expensive furniture and audio equipment? Very, very pathetic!

The external sides of Sakai's glamorous condo and internal properties are like a world apart. The Japanese police must think that they were entering a woman's slum home in Chicago.

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With Nori P the police have the perfect victim, they've destroyed her image, now the only work she'll be able to get will be hooking on the streets and you can bet the media will follow her and question her johns as to how she was in the sack.

Who says they do not know? Did you see some small love marks on her neck when she got out that the makeup did not cover.(unless she was getting choked.) Also, did you see the manly mustache she had. She is well on her way to turn'n tricks.

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kirakira, why should the place look like a tip after being uninhabited for over a month, if it wasn't a tip beforehand? If no-one has been in there for a month, as you said, what exactly could have happened during that time to make it into a tip? Rotting garbage I can understand, but empty bottles and clothes don't spread themselves over the floor while one is away, and cigarette burns also don't happen by themselves.

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They need to have an example to show the commoners.

Horie was their designated whipping boy to keep the upstart entrepreneurs in line-no sense in having some smart aleck inventor put Nisseki or Toyota out of business.

They needed someone from the geinokai, the hard rockers who use drugs can't be cowed, they just sit back and say nothing, take their 6 months to a year jailtime in stride and get back to making music, doing grugs and popping groupies cherries. With Nori P the police have the perfect victim, they've destroyed her image, now the only work she'll be able to get will be hooking on the streets and you can bet the media will follow her and question her johns as to how she was in the sack.

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So why exactly are you guys supporting her? Whether this article is blown out of proportion or not, she is definitely a me person (IMO) and could care less about her child's welfare. If she did use in front of her child, he has a very good chance of doing what his father and mother are doing and probably to a higher degree. If she was just a casual user, which none of us know, maybe it could be fine, but from the way it seems, husband was always gone with some loose women and she was left with the son. When did she have time to use? How many times was she high in front of her child? She deserves to get slammed as well as her husband. Only good thing the husband did was rat her out, now hopefully, most of the industry will be soon to follow.

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but this is starting to get beyond!

Starting to? It was beyond a month ago. Now its over the edge insane.

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Ahhhhhh Nihonjin hypocrisy at it's best!

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I have steered clear of commenting on anything to do with this Noriko Sakai stuff so far but I can`t hold back any longer - this is ridiculous!

If no-one has been there in over a month of course it is going to be a tip. Even if the place is a tip and they went in a day after she was arrested, what possible relevance does this have other than to further trash her. I am no fan of hers, and I like to see fake celebrities who preach "do as I say not as I do" get their comeuppence as much as anyone - but this is starting to get beyond!

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wonderful Japanese police trial by media continues unabated. J folks lap this stuff up. Shukan Post a truly reputable news organisation. JT proudly bringing us the best of the fourth estate.

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Some people enjoy a down-to-earth existence. If Sakai and her hubby were happy wallowing in grime, what's the big deal? I have yet to see any scientific proof that slovenly practices reduce lifespan. If anything exposure to all those germs would give you better immunity.

I laughed at the part of the cops covering their noses. These are supposed to be the same guys whose job assignments include investigation of murder scenes?

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Wow - the police found exactly what they were looking for, precisely where they expected to find it, and it had DNA on from someone they've had in custody for over a month. And open food containers start to whiff a bit after six weeks. Who'd have thunk?

She must be guilty, and a horrible person. Better pass the case over to a jury made of unbiased people who have read the article to formalise it.

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Ahhh... Nothing like trying a suspect in the court of public opinion by releasing personal details completely unrelated to the drug charges to what? Make Sakai look more quilty and the police more competent?

What's next? Details on the brand and frequency with which she used feminine hygiene products?

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