Shiori Ito, who accused renowned Japanese journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi of rape, became the face of the “Me Too” movement in Japan. Her struggle for justice, after authorities deemed the evidence insufficient to pursue criminal charges, is recounted in her critically acclaimed directorial debut, which is based on her memoir of the same name. However, the documentary is yet to be shown in her home country Japan, where it has encountered significant opposition.
Notably, the documentary ‘Black Box Diaries’ is now nominated for the Oscars. “I’m scared but all I want to do is to talk about the truth,” Shiori Ito conveyed in the opening scene of the project.
Shiori’s previous attorneys have accused her of breaching trust and endangering her sources by employing audio and video recordings that she was not authorized to use. Shiori argues what she did was vital for “public good,” reported BBC. Shiori, who was 28 at the time of the incident, disregarded her family’s wish to remain quiet. The incident shocked Japan in a story that captivated the country when it initially broke. Additionally, Shiori filed a civil lawsuit against Yamaguchi and won $30,000 (₹ 26,21,745) in damages after her public allegation failed to result in a criminal case.
Shiori stated that “reliving her trauma” was a part of the film’s creation. “It took me four years (to make the film) because emotionally I was struggling,” she highlighted. Shiori pointed out that Yamaguchi asked her to talk about a job opportunity in 2015 while she was an intern at the Reuters news agency. He oversaw the Washington bureau for Tokyo Broadcasting System at the time, a prominent Japanese media company.
After dining with him in Tokyo, Shiori charged that she was raped, but Yamaguchi has consistently refuted the same. Over 400 hours of footage were edited by Shiori for the documentary, including CCTV footage showing her being dragged drunk from a taxi and into a hotel. She describes the editing process as “extremely difficult.” It resembled intense exposure therapy. Shiori’s group of former lawyers, who assisted her in winning the case, rejected the documentary when it was first broadcast, making the CCTV footage a point of contention.
The lawyers asserted that she had broken a promise not to use the CCTV material outside of court proceedings and that it was an unauthorized usage. At another press conference last week, her former attorneys, led by Yoko Nishihiro, stated that her usage of the video presented problems for future instances involving sexual assault. “If the fact that the evidence from the trial has been made public is known, we will be unable to obtain cooperation in future cases,” Nishihiro voiced.
Nishihiro asserted that Shiori had only discovered this during a July movie screening that she had also used unapproved recordings. This includes a video of a cab driver who testified about the night of the rape and audio of a police investigator who later became a whistleblower regarding the investigating process. The attorneys contended that neither of them had consented to participate in the documnetary and that they were both identifiable.
“I’ve been trying so hard to protect her for eight-and-half years, and I feel like I’ve been completely torn apart. I want her to explain and be held accountable,” Nishihiro expressed. Although Shiori had previously admitted that she lacked the hotel’s consent to use the CCTV, she maintained that it was “the only visual evidence” she had of the night she was sexually assaulted. She added that she was sharing the footage “for the public good” and that the police detective’s audio was essential due to “the cover up of the investigation.”
Regarding the rift with her former counsels, she declared, “We are standing in different points of view. For me, (it’s for the) public good. For them, it’s do not break any rules.” The reason behind the film’s delayed distribution has not been formally explained. Shiori made the statement that “Japan is still not ready to talk about (it),” however, it is unclear to what extent this is because of legal obstacles.
She apologized in her most recent statement last week and promised to redact portions of the documentary to ensure that no one would be recognized. She also indicated that fresh version would be screened going ahead. “There are moments I wish I didn’t have to put in (the documentary). There are moments I’m not proud of but I wanted to put all of it and to show we are also human. No-one is perfect,” she noted.
Shiori stated that she wanted to go into detail in her documentary about her battle against Japan’s legal system, which has been extensively covered in the media in the nine years following the assault. When she went public in 2017, she was greeted with a barrage of hate mail and internet abuse. “People were telling me you’re not crying enough. You’re not wearing proper clothes. You’re too strong,” she recalled.
At the press conference where Shiori initially charged Yamaguchi, she was criticized over her attire, claiming that her top was buttoned too low down. Shiori stated that she left Japan for a few months, fearful for her safety.
