Japanese journalist and filmmaker, Ito Shiori, has spent the last decade under the media microscope as a sexual assault survivor. Her advocacy challenging Japan’s society norms toward sexual assault is featured in her documentary “Black Box Diaries.” But the film’s portrayal of sexual violence and use of contested footage have left its Japanese release in limbo.
Ito became the face of Japan’s #MeToo Movement after breaking her silence about her sexual assault, a cultural taboo in Japan, and the legal system’s failure to take victims of sexual violence seriously.
In 2015, she accused Yamaguchi Noriyuki, an influential Japanese journalist, of raping her in a New York hotel room while she was unconscious following a dinner to discuss a potential job. In 2019 Ito won a civil trial against Yamaguchi in Tokyo and was awarded damages worth approximately $30,000. The legal victory was followed by Ito being named one of Time Magazine’s most influential figures in 2020.
Ito wrote a memoir about her experience, “Black Box,” which was then adapted as a documentary film directed by Ito herself. “Black Box Diaries” has garnered international acclaim in the festival circuit outside Japan. It premiered in the United States and United Kingdom in October 2024 and has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards – the first nomination in that category by a Japanese director. The film has been screened at more than 50 film festivals and won 18 awards.
However, in Ito’s native Japan, the feature-length documentary has yet to premiere due to legal concerns around a lack of preapproved permission from some people who appear in the documentary.
Attorney Tsukuda Katsuhiko, who once fought alongside Ito in her civil trial, held a press conference in October last year, condemning the unauthorized use of specific footage that he said broke the trust and confidentiality of people who cooperated with Ito as she fought for justice.
Tsukuda, who also represents Ito’s disgruntled former attorneys, reiterated his legal concerns in a public press conference last week in Tokyo. He said that footage from the hotel’s security cameras from the night Ito was sexually assaulted was originally shared under the agreement that it would only be used in court proceedings. Tsukuda maintained that the hotel has not given permission for the footage to be used in a commercial film.
Additionally, the film features images and audio recordings from individuals such as a taxi driver, lawyer, and investigators involved in the case, whose privacy may not have been adequately protected.
In the press conference, Tsukuda challenged the notion that the “public interest” overrides privacy in this case, stating that responsible journalism requires balancing truth-telling with respect for individual rights.
He argued that while the security camera footage played a pivotal role in securing justice for Ito in court, its public display in “Black Box Diaries” offers limited additional benefit to the public and risks setting a troubling precedent for future cases. He warned that violating confidentiality agreements could discourage individuals from sharing crucial evidence in future sexual violence cases.
Ito had also been scheduled to hold a press conference on the same day, but she canceled due to health reasons and instead distributed a statement. She explained that the unauthorized use of security camera footage was needed to convey the realities of sexual violence and emphasized the public interest aspect.
At the same time, she apologized, saying, “I sincerely apologize to those whose consent for the use of footage was overlooked.” The latest version of the film will include “appropriate processing to prevent individuals from being identified” in the unauthorized footage and audio, Ito promised.
As the domestic dispute unfolds, it continues to fuel debate over the balance between public interest and privacy, adding to the growing controversy surrounding the documentary.