Shiori Ito, a Japanese journalist, realized she would have to speak up against a society that would rather keep quiet about her rape claims."I am scared..." But all I want to do is speak the truth," she says in the first scene of her Oscar-nominated documentary Black Box Diaries. Shiori became the face of Japan's #MeToo campaign after accusing a prominent journalist, Noriyuki Yamaguchi, of rape. He disputes the charges. Based on her memoir of the same name, her critically praised directorial debut tells the story of her search for justice after authorities discovered insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges. Shiori's former lawyers have accused her of incorporating audio and video evidence that she did not have authorization to use, which they claim broke trust and jeopardized her sources. It's a shocking twist in a tale that initially captivated Japan. Shiori, who was 28 years old at the time, chose to disregard her family's desire that she remain silent about the alleged rape.
After her public complaint did not result in a criminal case, she launched a civil lawsuit against Mr Yamaguchi and was awarded $30,000 (£22,917) in damages. At the time, he was the Washington bureau head for Tokyo Broadcasting System, a prominent Japanese media company.
However, when the film was aired, the CCTV evidence contained in the documentary caused friction between the filmmaker and the team of lawyers who assisted her in winning her civil lawsuit. The lawyers said Shiori's use of CCTV material was illegal, and she had broken a promise not to use it outside court proceedings. Last Monday, her former lawyers, led by Yoko Nishihiro, held a press conference in which she stated that Shiori's use of the tape presented issues for other sexual assault cases.
