Chou VIP Fortune no Tobira from mid-June till late August. In November, she was on the CBC variety show Bijou Dokyuu and TBS show B-1. She was cast in the TBS TV drama Hotman. Her most notable role was in 1 Litre of Tears in 2005 when she portrayed a girl with the degenerative disease spinocerebellar degeneration. Sawajiri first started her music career under the name "Kaoru Amane", the name of her character in her last drama, the TV adaptation of A Song to the Sun. The single went into number 1 in its second and fourth week. It was certified Triple Platinum for cell phone downloads of 750,000. On July 16, 2007, Erika released her debut single "Free", under the name "Erika". The single was immediately ranked on its first day as number one on the Oricon Charts. "Free" was certified Platinum for cell phone downloads of 250,000. Oricon stated that she is the only artist in 39 years to get their first two singles to hit number one since Hiroko Yakushimaru in 1983. Sawajiri had planned to attend the 12th Busan International Film Festival on October 6, 2007, but she cancelled. Sawajiri and her mother both stated on separate occasions that she would return to Japan and make a comeback as soon as late summer 2009. In 2012, Sawajiri was originally scheduled to star in the live action film version of Space Battleship Yamato but was replaced by Meisa Kuroki. In 2013, Sawajiri won Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 36th Japan Academy Awards for her performance in Helter Skelter. After Sawajiri's November 2019 arrest, she was replaced in the television drama Kirin ga Kuru with Haruna Kawaguchi. She later stated in January 2020 that she had no plans on continuing her career. In February 2020, Avex ended their contract with her. Personal life Sawajiri dated Tsuyoshi Takashiro as early as October 2007. She returned to Japan on March 29, 2008 after nearly three months in London with Takashiro. While in London, she attended a language school and has become fluent enough in English to handle ordinary conversation. On January 20, 2009, Sawajiri married Takashiro at Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi and had registered their marriage on January 7. On December 28, 2013, at the press conference, they announced they had divorced. Drug arrest and trial On November 16, 2019, Sawajiri was arrested on suspicion of possessing