Popular Japanese singer-songwriter Noriyuki Makihara was sentenced Monday to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for possessing illegal drugs.

In handing down the ruling, the Tokyo District Court said the possession was a “malign crime reflecting his lack of hesitation toward illegal drugs.”

Still, Judge Masashi Sakata gave Makihara the suspended term, saying he “showed remorse and pledged to stay away (from drugs).”

Perhaps best known for the hit “Donna Toki mo” (“Anytime”), Makihara, who made his debut in 1990, appeared in court wearing a dark suit. He thanked the judge with a bow before walking away from the courtroom briskly.

According to the ruling, Makihara had about 3.5 milliliters of the liquid inhalant isobutyl nitrite, a type of “popper” commonly known as “Rush,” in February at his home in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

The ruling also said that 0.083 gram of an illegal stimulant drug and 64.2 milliliters of Rush that was found in the 51-year-old’s condominium in the capital’s Minato Ward when his partner was arrested in the spring of 2018 actually belonged to the singer.

Prosecutors had sought a two-year prison term for Makihara, saying he had been using Rush for about 30 years and an illegal stimulant drug since at least 1999, even after he was found guilty of a drug charge in the same year.

Source: ANNnewsCH