Sakai is both a Japanese surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:

Surname

• Atsushi Sakai (境 敦史, born 1983), Japanese professional wrestler known by his ring name Kai
• Daniel Sakai, Oakland SWAT police officer killed in 2009
• Frankie Sakai (1929–1996), Japanese comedian
• Gotoku Sakai (born 1991), Japanese football (soccer) player currently playing for Vissel Kobe
• Hideyuki Sakai (born 1973), professional Go player
• Hirofumi Sakai (born 1965), Japanese race walker
• Hiroki Sakai (born 1990), Japanese football (soccer) player
• Hiroko Sakai (born 1978), Japanese softball player who won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Hiroyuki Sakai (born 1942), Japanese chef, starred in the original Iron Chef
• Sakai Hōitsu (1761–1828), Japanese painter of the Rinpa school
• Izumi Sakai (1967–2007), J-pop singer, song writer, and lead singer of the group Zard
• Kanako Sakai (born 1986), Japanese voice actor
• Katsuyuki Sakai (born 1988), Japanese rugby union player
• Kazufumi Sakai (坂井 和史, born 1947), Japanese basketball player
• Keikō Sakai (born December 25), Japanese voice actor who works at 81 Produce
• Kenichi Sakai (坂井 謙一, born 1982), Japanese wrestler known by his ring name Ken45°
• Kiyoshi Sakai, anime producer and animator
• Kōdai Sakai (born 1986), Japanese voice actor
• Kōji Sakai (1885–1973), general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II
• Maki Sakai (born 1970), Japanese actress
• Manabu Sakai (born 1965), Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet
• Masaaki Sakai (born 1946), Japanese rock musician and television performer
• Sakai Masahisa (died 1570), Japanese samurai of the Sengoku Period
• Masato Sakai (born 1973), Japanese actor
• Miki Sakai (born 1978), Japanese actress and J-pop idol singer
• Mikio Sakai (born 1970), Japanese singer-songwriter
• Munehisa Sakai, Japanese director
• Natsumi Sakai (born 2001), Japanese swimmer
• Nick Sakai, a Japanese-American actor
• Noriko Sakai (born 1971), Japanese J-pop star and actress
• Richard Sakai (born 1954), Emmy-winning Japanese-American television producer
• Ryūichi Sakai (born 1970), better known as Marc Panther, Japanese rapper, singer, and co-producer, and a member of the J-pop groups globe and 245
• Saburō Sakai (1916–2000), Japanese fighter ace during World War II
• Seth Sakai (1932–2007), Japanese-American actor known for various characters he played on Hawaii Five-O and Magnum P.I.
• Shiho Sakai (酒井 志穂, born 1990), Japanese swimmer
• Sho Sakai (坂井 丞, born 1992), Japanese diver
• Shogo Sakai (born 1988), Japanese football player currently playing for Montedio Yamagata
• Shoichiro Sakai (境 正一郎, born 1928), Japanese mathematician
• Stan Sakai (born 1953), Japanese-American comic book creator known for his Usagi Yojimbo series
• Sumie Sakai (born 1971), Japanese-American professional wrestler
• Sakai Tadaaki (1813–1873), Japanese daimyō of the Edo period, and a prominent Tokugawa shogunate of Japan
• Sakai Tadakatsu (1587–1662), Japanese tairō, rōjū, master of Wakasa-Obama Castle, and daimyō of Obama Domain in Wakasa province in the mid-17th century Japan
• Sakai Tadakatsu (Shōnai) (1594–1647), Japanese daimyō of the early Edo period in Japan
• Sakai Tadakiyo (1624–1681), daimyō in Kōzuke Province, and a high-ranking government advisor and official in the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan
• Sakai Tadamochi (1725–1775), Japanese daimyō of the mid-Edo period in Japan
• Sakai Tadatsugu (1527–1596), Japanese military commanders for Tokugawa Ieyasu in the late-Sengoku period, and one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa (Tokugawa-Shitennō)
• Sakai Tadayo (1572–1636), Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku period, and high ranking government advisor holding the title of Rōjū, and later Tairō
• Sakai Tadayuki (1770–1828), Japanese daimyō of the mid to late Edo period who ruled the Obama Domain
• Takao Sakai (堺 孝夫, born 1959), Japanese bobsledder
• Takashi Sakai (1887–1946), Japanese lieutenant general of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II
• Tatsuya Sakai (坂井 達弥, born 1990), Japanese footballer
• Tatsuya Sakai (marksman), Japanese sport shooter
• Tomohito Sakai (酒居 知史, born 1993), Japanese baseball player
• Tomoyuki Sakai (born 1979), Japanese football (soccer) player who played in the J-League and on the Japan national team in 2000
• Toshihiko Sakai (1871–1933), Japanese socialist known for cofounding the Common Peoples' Newspaper with Shusui Kotoku
• Toshio Sakai (1940–1999), photographer for United Press International who won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1968
• Toshio Sakai (Go player) (born 1920), professional Go player in Japan
• Toshiyuki Sakai (坂井 寿如, born 1964), Japanese ice hockey player
• Yoshihiro Sakai (坂井 良宏, born 1977), Japanese wrestler known by his ring names Muscle Sakai and Super Sasadango Machine
• Yoshinori Sakai (born 1945), the Olympic flame torchbearer who lit the cauldron at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, and gold and silver medalist at the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand
• Yoshio Sakai (born 1910), Japanese field hockey player who competed in the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics
• Yuki Sakai (酒井 悠基, born 1985), Japanese footballer
• Yuki Sakai (酒井 優紀, born 1989), Japanese footballer

Given name

• Sakai Tanaka (born 1961), Japanese freelance journalist

See also

• Sakai (disambiguation) for other uses of the word