The film by a Japanese woman about her search for justice from non-cooperative authorities after she reported being raped is a nominee for the Academy Awards on Sunday. However, despite being the first full-length documentary made by an Oscar-nominated Japanese director, the film is not seen in his home country.
In the film “Black Box Diaries,” journalist Ito Shiori tells the story of what happened to her after reporting that she was raped in a hotel due to a prominent television journalist and the ordeal that she had experienced the Japanese judicial system.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024. It was released in US theatres in October and is currently being seen or scheduled to be seen in more than 30 countries. However, they do not include Japan.
The Japanese subsidiary of a major streaming service refused to distribute the film in early 2024, the filmmakers said, and the theatres have shown little interest in showing it so far. The prospects for the film's release grew even more in October when other previous supporters, including Ito's former lawyer and fellow journalists, opposed her by saying she had used the footage without agreeing to it.
This is not the first time Japan has barricaded himself to showcase a remarkable film that has received good reviews in Hollywood. Both “The Cove,” a documentary about the dolphin hunting in the town of the sun, and “Unbroken,” a feature film about the cruel treatment of Allied prisoners during World War II, opened at least a year after its US premiere. Created by an American director, “The Cove” won the Oscars Best Documentary feature in 2010.
Ito says that despite the presence of a Japanese director, “Black Box Diary” is bumping into resistance. Because it sheds light on topics that are normally kept in shadow. The legal system and society are broader and that it appears to be at a disadvantage to women who move forward saying they have been sexually assaulted.
“This film isn't just about sexual violence. It's about power, corruption and systematic issues,” Ito said. “I'm making a lot of people uncomfortable, that's certainly true.”
Ito, 35, has been a polarizing figure since she moved forward in 2017, saying that she was unconsciously raped by journalist Yariyuki Yayuki Ariyuki after drinking dinner nights in 2017. Yamaguchi, a biographer of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, denied the charges and two months later the criminal case was dropped by the prosecutor.
Ito won a civil lawsuit against him in a ruling upheld by the Japan Supreme Court.
The incident made her a symbol of Japan's still underdeveloped #MeToo movement, but critics accused her of being epic in order to advance her career.
“Japanese society tends to avoid talking about the hot button issue,” said film director Fanhashi Island. “I think this film should be a catalyst to ensure that we have to go through this kind of painful experience again.”
All the stress of attention seemed to hit Ito. On February 20th, she cancelled the Tokyo press conference in her final moments, citing medical reasons. A limited screening of edited versions of her films was also discarded.
A group of lawyers, including those who represented her in the civil lawsuit, held their own press conference on the same day to reiterate concerns about the film. They said the “black box diary” uses video and audio from one of the attorneys without the permission of taxi drivers, police detectives and those individuals.
They also took responsibility for Ito for including footage of himself being dragged out of the taxi by Yamaguchi when he arrived at the hotel. The footage from the security cameras was used without the hotel's permission, the lawyer said.
“I now have to talk to people I've fought over the years,” said one of the lawyers, Nishihara Yoko. “How tragic this is.”
In a statement released after cancelling the press conference, Ito apologised for “causing harm” by not obtaining consent and said he was creating an amended version of the film “to ensure that it cannot be identified.”
At the same time, there is a scene in which Ito and the film producer say they don't want to cut it. One of these was footage from a security camera from the hotel, which Ito said was “the only visual evidence of sexual assault.”
Film producer Eric Nyali said they are still trying to negotiate a version of the film that can address privacy criticism, while revealing what happened.
“There are certain areas where we meet our concerns,” Nyari said.
