In 2017, aspiring Japanese journalist Shiori Ito went public with the allegation that powerful, and high-profile Washington Bureau Chief of TBS TV station in Tokyo, Noriyuki Yamaguchi, had drugged and raped her after he invited her out to dinner.
Yamaguchi was a well-known presence on TV with ties to some of the most powerful people in Japan, including then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Going public with rape allegations against famous people in Japan is rare, but this case was particularly unusual because it appeared the evidence was strong, and the Tokyo Police were going to act on it. Reports later suggested a planned arrest was called off at the last minute, for reasons unexplained. Some observers suggested Yamaguchi’s powerful friends had intervened.
It’s not surprising then that this apparent miscarriage of justice kick-started the #MeToo movement in Japan, a nation known for its reticence to publicly address sexual assault crimes. Ito pursued her alleged attacker in civil court and wrote a personal account of the trauma in her book Black Box Diaries (translated into English by Allison Markin Powell). From the book, Ito and accomplished Japan-based film producer Eric Nyari decided to make a diary-type documentary which Ito directs, is on camera almost all the time, and narrates the events of the night in question and subsequent developments.
This personal documentary style, where Ito talks straight to the camera, has antecedents in the Japanese cinema world, particularly the early documentaries by radical and celebrated filmmaker Kazuo Hara, and it works particularly well here. Not only do we feel the author’s anguish and anger, but we can experience the reception she received from Japanese society at large.
The film presents some powerful evidence, such as the security footage from the hotel where it appears Ito is being dragged out of the taxi, and a recorded conversation with the taxi driver where he admits his feelings of guilt for not doing anything to intervene. The case against Yamaguchi appears solid, though he has never been charged with a crime.
The documentary does follow the civil case against him, as well as show women’s groups that support Ito. An irony of the situation is that some have charged parts of the footage shown were used without permission, allegations Ito has responded to, and controversy around that is ongoing. Nonetheless, this powerful and important presentation regarding the Women’s Rights movement in Japan, and it deservedly received an Academy Award nomination for feature documentary.
It’s a must-see for anyone concerned with contemporary issues in Japan.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Black Box Diaries is now streaming on Paramount+ in the United States. It will be available to stream exclusively in Australia and New Zealand on DocPlay from February 24th, 2025.
