Chiharu Sakai was born in Yokohama, Japan. After obtaining a master in music at the Tokyo Fine Arts and Music University, she went to Europe to continue her studies with a Rotary scholarship. She has won several international competitions such as the 1st prize of London International piano competition, 1st prize of Maria Canals in Spain and is a finalist of the Marguerite Long competition in Paris. She has played with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, NHK Orchestra in Tokyo and the Lisbon Orchestra in Portugal, among others. She has taught at Colgate University and was an accompanist at Hamilton College in New York State. Currently, she is an associate professor of Kyoto City University of Arts in Japan.