Movie Japan's MeToo icon now allowed to show documentary in her home country
The film "Black Box Diaries" about one of the few MeToo activists in Japan has been nominated for an Oscar. It has been shown worldwide for a year - only in journalist Shiori Ito's home country has it not been shown so far. That is now set to change.
07.11.2025, 13:45
SDA
The film will be shown in Tokyo from December - albeit with a few changes and only in a single cinema, as the film distributor announced on Friday.
"Black Box Diaries" was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature category this year. In it, Shiori Ito tells her own story: the journalist had accused a well-known TV reporter of raping her in 2015 - after he had invited her to dinner to discuss a job offer.
Her accusations were initially ignored by the police, she fought for years to be heard and for justice - she was finally vindicated in a civil lawsuit.
Not yet shown in Japan
The documentary has not yet been shown in Japan, officially for legal reasons to ensure the protection of the personal rights of the people shown in the film. Now, however, "Black Box Diaries" is to be shown in a cinema in Tokyo from December 12, announced the film distributor Toei Advertising. The Japanese version of the documentary has been "finalized after some changes and adjustments, taking into account the feedback from those involved".
Although her film will initially only be shown in one cinema, Ito was delighted: "I hope that the screening will initiate discussions to break the silence, protect others affected and bring about social change step by step," she explained. It initially remained to be seen whether other cinemas would follow suit.
With her public accusations, her book and her film about them, the now 36-year-old became an icon of the MeToo movement in Japan, although it is struggling to gain a foothold in the conservative country. In Japan, rape victims almost never file charges. According to a government survey, only four percent of the women affected contact the police.
