Noriko Sakai apparently hesitated to turn herself in after she was told by an acquaintance that police stations were swarming with reporters following the arrest of her husband on a drug charge and her relative's request that police start searching for her, investigators said Monday.
The actress was quoted by investigators as saying she "got into a panic and didn't know what to do" after hearing from the acquaintance, whom she had sent to take a look at the Tokyo police station where her husband, Yuichi Takaso, 41, was under arrest and the one that received the search request from her mother-in-law.
The investigators said the Metropolitan Police Department believes the 38-year-old Sakai, affectionately called Nori-P by her fans, hesitated to turn herself in because of her panic and did not really intend to evade the police.
Sakai, who was arrested Saturday night, was turned over to prosecutors Monday morning.
Shortly after the Aug. 3 arrest of her husband, she disappeared along with their 10-year-old son. The son was later found safe in Tokyo in the custody of an acquaintance, but her whereabouts had been unknown until she turned herself Saturday.
Since her arrest, she has admitted to taking stimulant drugs since last summer at the urging of her husband.