Sasaki

Sasaki wears the blue uniform and cap of his trade behind the wheel. His brown hair is cropped close, and his eyes are small and brown.

The series sketches Sasaki mainly through his composure under pressure. Made to serve as the hijacker's mouthpiece with a gun trained on him, he keeps his head, and afterward he willingly assists the investigation, recounting events and straining to recall the faces of those who rode his bus that day.

Sasaki is at the wheel of a bus bound for the Spaceland amusement park when Kiichiro Osoreda commandeers it. Forced to phone the park and report the takeover, he then watches Osoreda seize the receiver and bark threats while keeping him and seven riders captive. The standoff ends the instant Osoreda catches sight of Ryuk and orders the bus halted; the gunman bolts and is struck dead by a passing car, his fate already inked by Light. Some time afterward Sasaki lends a hand to Naomi Misora's private inquiry, walking her through how the hijacking unfolded. Shown a photograph of her and her fiance, he recognizes the man but cannot place any of the other passengers. Adaptations reuse him with small twists, the most notable being a turn as a taxi driver in L: Change the WorLd, where he ferries Maki Nikaido through the night until he finally delivers her to L.