A month has passed since drug rehabilitation center Gifu Darc opened the first dormitory in the Tokai region for female addicts.
The center, in the city of Gifu, currently has only one female patient, 28, who was identified only by the pseudonym Aya, who is taking her first steps toward rehabilitation.
The woman started out sniffing paint thinner when she was 17 before moving on to marijuana and stronger stimulants. At age 26, she was arrested and imprisoned for drug-related offences.