Shiori Ito: Japan’s MeToo icon is up for an Oscar | Global News Avenue

When Japanese journalist Shiori Ito decided to speak out for her rape allegations, she knew she was standing in front of a society that favored silence.

“I’m scared…but all I have to do is talk about the truth,” Shiori said in the opening scene of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Black Box Diary.

Shiori accused a famous journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi of being raped as the face of the Japanese Metoo movement.

According to her memoir of the same name, her highly acclaimed directorial debut recounts her pursuit of justice after authorities found evidence that was not enough to file criminal charges.

But there is one country that has not yet played a role: Japan is trapped in huge controversy. Her former lawyer accused her of including audio and videotapes she did not allow, which they said violated trust and put her source in danger. Shiori defends her work necessary for “public goods.”

It was a surprising story, and when Japan first went bankrupt – Shiori, then 28, ignored her family’s request to remain silent. She filed a civil lawsuit against Yamaguchi and won $30,000 (£22,917) in damages after publicly alleging that it did not result in a criminal case.

Shiori told the BBC that making the film involves “recovering the trauma”: “It took me four years (making a movie) because I was struggling emotionally.”

She was an intern at the Reuters news agency in 2015, when she said Yamaguchi invited her to discuss job opportunities. He is the head of the Tokyo Broadcasting System, the Washington Bureau’s main media company.

Shiori claims she was raped after dinner with Yamaguchi in Tokyo, and Yamaguchi has been denied the allegations.

Part of the 400-plus hours of video edited for the documentary was CCTV footage of the drunk Shiori.

The editing process was “really challenging. It’s like hardcore exposure therapy,” she said.

After the release of the film, CCTV footage became a source of friction for Shiori’s former team of lawyers, who helped her win the lawsuit and slammed the documentary.

They claimed it was an unauthorized use of CCTV footage – she violated the warranty of not using it outside of court proceedings. .

Last week, her former lawyer – led by Yoko Nishihiro – held a press conference saying her use of the videotape has posed challenges to other sexual assault cases.

“If the evidence of the trial is known, we will be able to cooperate in future circumstances,” Ms Nishihiro said.

Ms Nishihiro claimed Shiori also used unauthorized recordings, saying she only found this in a film screening last July.

This includes audio from police detectives, who ultimately acted as whistleblower for the investigation process, and a video of a taxi driver who provided testimony about the night of the alleged rape. The lawyers believe that both of them are identifiable and neither agrees to appear in the film.

Ms Nishihiro said: “I’ve been trying to protect her for eight and a half years and I feel like I’ve completely torn apart.”

“I want her to explain and take responsibility.”

Shiori earlier admitted that she had no permission to use CCTV in the hotel, but believed it was her “only visual evidence” of the night she had been sexually assaulted.

She added that due to “covering of the investigation,” the audio of police detectives was needed, adding that she was posting videos “for public goods.”

“We are in a different view,” she said of the consequences with the former lawyer.

“For me, (it’s for the public good. For them, it’s ‘don’t break any rules’.”

There is no official explanation as to why the movie has not been released yet. Shiori once said that “Japan is not ready to talk about (it)” but it is not clear how much of it is due to legal obstacles.

Shiori apologized in her latest statement last week and said she would re-edit the documentary to make sure that individuals could not be identified, adding that the edited version would be screened out.

“Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to put it in (documentary). There are moments where I’m not proud of it, but I want to put all of it in it and prove that we are human beings, too.” “No one is perfect.”

Shiori’s fight against the Japanese judicial system has received great wisdom in the media in the nine years since the attack – she said she wanted to go into detail in the documentary.

When she was publicly published in 2017, she was subjected to hate emails and online abuse, and she was met with strong opposition.

“People told me that you didn’t cry enough…you didn’t wear the right clothes…you’re too strong.”

Some criticized her way of dressing at a press conference, and she first blamed Yamaguchi – they said her shirt was buttoned too low. Shiori said she was worried about her safety and left Japan for several months.

Shiori’s case is followed by other highly-reviewed cases. In 2023, former soldier Rina Gonoi also made her story public, accusing three former soldiers of sexually assaulting her. This is Japan’s landmark law that redefines rape from “forced sex” to “involuntary sex” and raises the age of consent from 13 to 16.

Gonoi eventually won her case, but Shiori said it proved that claims of sexual violence come at a price, adding: “Is it worth experiencing as a survivor of justice? It shouldn’t be. You have to sacrifice a lot.”

At the moment, it is not clear whether her film will be screened in Japan, but she says its homecoming will be her final award.

She added: “This is my love letter to Japan. I really hope that one day my movie will be shown and my family can watch it.”

“That’s what I really hope for…not just winning an Oscar.”