Information:
ZARD is considered to be a fairly legendary pop/rock group, with one of the foremost female vocalists. Vocalist Sakai has also been featured in Tak Matsumoto's (B'z guitarist) project to cover older j-pop hits. It's well known that she is the driving force behind ZARD, and writes almost all of their music.

On May 27 2007, at age 40, Sakai Izumi passed away. She had been admitted into Keio University Hospital, for treatment of cervical cancer. She died as a result of accidentally falling down a flight of stairs, during one of her regular morning walks. She was not discovered until a good amount of time later, when she had already passed.