[6] At the end of the year, she was the captain of the Red Team on Kōhaku Uta Gassen, where she debuted her song, Kanashimi yo Konnichi wa, the first opening theme for the anime television series Maison Ikkoku.
[3] She was captain of the red team again in 1989, where her single In A Dream (夢の中へ, Yume no Naka e) was ranked fifth in the competition.
Saito married salaryman Nobuyasu Isarai in 1994,[2] and they have one son and two daughters, including Rin Mizushima.
During the 1990s, Saito began moving from the role of idol star to doing more acting in movies, television, and on stage.
Along with Mitsuhiro Oikawa, she formed a duo called "Yanake" (やな家) in 2006 and released Kateinai Date (家庭内デート),[10] and made her first singing appearance in seven years on June 8, 2006.
[11] Saito is well known in Japan for being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[3] as she refuses to work on Sundays.
[4] In the 1986 film Koisuru Onnatachi, Saito used a fake cigarette used for asthma patients due to her LDS beliefs, which forbid the use of tobacco, including smoking.