Last November Sakai Noriko (39) was charged with the crime of possession and use of controlled substances. The former actress gave an interview to the Weekly Asahi newspaper which went on newsstands on 11/30. In the interview, Sakai talked about drugs and her current life.

Sakai tells the newspaper about her mental state at that time, and how she cut off all ties after her ex-husband’s arrest. “I wasn’t aware that I was running away. I was extremely frightened with all this mayhem and I was thinking what should I do. All I wanted was time to calm down.”

She also touched on the subject of drugs. Roughly 4 years before her arrest, her ex-husband offered some drugs to her but she didn’t use it at the time. Then roughly a year before the arrest, she once again was in possession of some drugs. When Sakai and her ex-husband talked about divorce, he mentioned the drugs again. Sakai explained, “I thought I could stop the frantic feelings since my marital life was in shambles. We both knew that it was hopeless, but it was fun when we were together. We loved each other, so we wanted to think that it was fine to lie to ourselves. The two of us held on to this secret. But somehow that strong bond we had was all an illusion.”

When it comes to the future, Sakai said, “I want to discover the joy of human life for everyone’s sake.” Sakai did not talk about returning to the entertainment business.