"Eriko with Crunch" was short-lived, and Imai began her solo career with the single "In the Name of Love", released in 2000.
[citation needed] In July, Eriko released her fifth solo single, "Our Relation", an upbeat, high-tempo ballad.
"Our Relation" was the second single to be fully produced by Hiroaki Hayama, also used as the second opening theme to Captain Tsubasa: ROAD to 2002.
Speed became the ambassadors of Save The Children until the end of 2003, during which time they performed on nationwide tours and released singles and an album to raise funds for the charity.
That October, Onmyoji 2 was released in Japan, with Eriko reprising her role as the magic spirit Mitsumushi.
Between February and March 2004, Eriko performed in the musical Star Tanjō with Hitomi Shimatani and Yukie Nakama.
Lastly in the message, Eriko asked for guidance on her change from single to a wife and a soon-to-be mother.
On 25 November 2004, Eriko released her first singles collection, Stairway, to mark her new life journey as a mother and wife.
Upon returning to the music scene Eriko began writing all of her songs, which differed greatly from her former style.
On 22 September 2005, Eriko performed her 'Elly Live 2005: Rebirth' concert to mark her 22nd birthday and shift to the new name.
On 18 October 2005, the first birthday of her son, Imai released her first photobook, "Egao de Ikō", which includes autobiographical thoughts about the periods of her life and career.
During that particular live, Imai sang Speed singles "Walking in the Rain" and "White Love" with Ijichi.
Reports from TokyoGraph and J!-Ent news sources indicated the separation was due to Eriko's focus on her career and social calendar, with Shogo wanting to raise Raimu.
After these media reports, Eriko posted a short and cryptic message on her official site, reading: "only believe what was seen and heard from oneself".
[citation needed] Also in August 2007, Imai announced she would be releasing her new single "Ude Makura" (腕枕) at a later date.
[citation needed] According to the message, the divorce was mainly due to their divergent views and concepts about the future, and therefore leading to the inability to live together like before.
Eriko also started a web programme called Elly ch: '...& Smile' on 18 October, in which she invites her friends as guests or shows footage of her concerts.
Eriko released her second photobook, Kokoro no Uta: Musuko to Ayunda 4 Nenkan, Soshite Korekara, on 14 February 2009.
After Imai's shotgun wedding in 2004 to 175R's Shogo, due to her pregnancy, tabloid magazine Shukan Bunshun quoted a source known to Eriko that her management agency had stopped paying her monthly wage of 200,000 yen and promptly expelled her from the company apartment.
[citation needed] She is good friends with Hikaru Utada and called her father on air on behalf of her fans when she underwent ovarian cancer surgery.
In 2016, Imai became a candidate for the Japanese House of Councillors election under the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and won.
[5] In November 2021, Imai will be releasing a memoir of her life, a member of SPEED, being a single mother, raising a son with congenital deafness, her activism for children with disabilities, being a politician and more.