She is best known for starring in the horror film Ring (1998) and the drama series A Story of Love (1997) and I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper.

[2] In 1997, she starred as a poor but happy designer who happens to run a shop in a building owned by a wealthy and arrogant but dying rich man in the drama A Story of Love (known as Konna Koi No Hanashi in Japanese).

The drama chronicles the trial and tribulations that the leads undergo as their feelings developed into something more than mere friendship.

[4][5] The commercial marked the couple's first shared appearance since Great Teacher Onizuka and their first time together following their marriage in 2001.

[5][4] In 2024 the couple appeared together in the remake of Great Teacher Onizuka, GTO Revival, where Matsushima guest starred, reprising her role as Azusa Fuyutsuki.

[12] This marked her second collaboration with Hiroyuki Sanada, having previously worked together on the drama series A Story of Love.