THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
February 6, 2020 at 17:19 JST
Erika Sawajiri stands trial on drug possession charges at the Tokyo District Court. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Erika Sawajiri was given a suspended sentence on Feb. 6 for possession of MDMA and LSD in a case that effectively ended her acting career.
Sawajiri, 33, was indicted on charges of possessing 0.2 gram of MDMA, or ecstasy, and about 0.7 gram of blotter and liquid acid at her residence in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward on Nov. 16.
She pleaded guilty to the charges at the Tokyo District Court, which sentenced her to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years.
During her trial, Sawajiri apologized to her former colleagues and her family. When asked if she planned to make a comeback in acting, Sawajiri said, “I have no intention of doing so.”
Prosecutors had demanded an 18-month prison term, arguing that the possibility was high that Sawajiri would resume her drug habit, given that she first began using when she was 19.
But her defense lawyers said her dependence on drugs was low, and that medical treatment, not prison, would be a better path toward preventing her from using drugs again.
A total of 915 people entered the lottery for one of the 19 gallery seats at the court made available to the public for the verdict.
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