Noriko Sakai

Noriko Sakai
酒井 法子
Noriko Sakai in Hong Kong, during her Asia 1998 Work Out Fine tour
Born	(1971-02-14) February 14, 1971 (age 54) Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	Nori-P
Education	Horikoshi High School
Alma mater	University of Creation; Art, Music & Social Work
Occupation(s)	Singer, actress
Years active	1986–2009 2012–present
Agents	Sun Music (1986–2009) Office Nigun Niiba (2012–2021) Smile (2021–present)
Height	1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Spouse	Yūichi Takasō ​ ​ (m. 1998; div. 2010)​
Children	1 son
Musical career
Genres	J-pop
Instrument	Vocals
Labels	Victor Entertainment (1987–2009) Office Nigun Niiba (2012–2021) Smile (2021–present)
Musical artist
Website	norikosakai.co.jp

Noriko Sakai (酒井 法子, Sakai Noriko, born February 14, 1971) is a Japanese singer and actress. 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. Over 40,000 copies of the single were sold. She is particularly popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Her best-selling single to date is "Aoi Usagi".

In August 2009, Sakai was arrested on suspicion of possession and abuse of drugs and sentenced to probation for three years. She divorced her husband Yūichi Takasō (高相 祐一, Takasō Yūichi) after the incident and temporarily stayed away from the media circle. 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. On May 1, 2021, she left Office Nigun Niiba and joined Smile.