Shiori speaks at the start of her Oscar film Black Box Diaries about wanting to share the truth despite her fear. She became known for starting Japan MeToo after saying reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi raped her. Her first movie as director tells how she tried to find justice when police did not charge him due to lack of proof. The movie has not been shown in Japan yet because of big problems. Her past lawyers say she used sounds and videos without asking first. They think this broke trust and might hurt the people who helped her. Shiori thinks what she did was needed for the public good. This case was important news in Japan. Shiori did not stay quiet even though her family asked her to. After no criminal case happened, she sued Yamaguchi and won $30,000 in money for harm. Making the film made Shiori live through her pain again. It took four years because she found it hard to deal with her feelings. She was working at ReutersNewss in 2015 when Yamaguchi asked to meet about a job. He ran the Washington office for the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Shiori says he raped her after they ate dinner in Tokyo. Yamaguchi always said this did not happen.
The camera video shows Shiori looking drunk, being pulled from a taxi into a hotel. This was part of more than 400 hours of video she cut down for her movie. Cutting all this was very hard for her. It felt like strong therapy where she had to face her fears. When the film came out, the camera video caused fights with her old lawyers, who had helped her win her case. They said she used the video without proper permission and broke her promise not to use it outside court. Last week, her past lawyers, led by Yoko Nishihiro, talked to the press again, saying her use of the video makes things harder for other sex attack cases. Nishihiro said he would not be able to get help for future cases if people knew court proof might be shown to everyone. Nishihiro also said Shiori used voice records without asking and she only found out at a film showing last July. This included the sound of a police worker who later told secrets about how they looked into the case, plus a video of a taxi driver who talked about the night of the reported rape. Her lawyers said both people could be known from the film and never said yes to being in it. Nishihiro said she tried hard to protect Shiori for almost nine years and feels totally hurt by what happened. She wants Shiori to explain herself and take the blame for what she did.
Shiori had said before that she did not ask the hotel if she could use their camera video but said this was the only picture proof she had from the night of her attack. She added that using the police worker sound was needed because the search for truth was hidden and she put out the video for public good. She said she and her past lawyers see things from different places. For her, it helps the public, but for them, rules should not be broken. No one has explained why the film has not been shown in Japan yet. Shiori has said Japan is not ready to talk about these things, but we do not know how much legal problems play a part. In her last statement, Shiori said sorry and would fix parts of the movie to make sure no one could tell who the peopleweree. A changed version will be shown going forward. She told the press there are parts she wishes she did not need to put in the film and parts she does not feel proud of, but she wanted to show all of it and that we are all human. No one is perfect. Nine years after her attack, Shiori fought against Japanese courts, and the press wrote much about this. She wanted to tell this story in her film. When she first went public in 2017, many people sent hate mail and mean messages online. People said she did not cry enough dress right, or seem too strong. Some did not like how her shirt was open at the press talk where she first named Yamaguchi. Shiori left Japan for months because she feared for her life.
Other big cases came after hers. In 2023, past soldier Rina Gonoi told her story and said three old soldiers attacked her. That same year Japan made new laws to change rape from forced sex to sex without yes and raised the age limit from 13 to 16 years old. Gonoi won her case, but Shiori says this shows that speaking up about sex attacks costs much. She asks if seeking justice is worth going through all this. It should not be this way, she says. You must give up a lot. W we do not know if her film will ever play in Japan,n but she says that would mean more than any prize. She calls her film a love letter to Japan. She really hopes one day she can show her film there and her family can watch it. That means more to her than winning an Oscar.
The camera video shows Shiori looking drunk, being pulled from a taxi into a hotel. This was part of more than 400 hours of video she cut down for her movie. Cutting all this was very hard for her. It felt like strong therapy where she had to face her fears. When the film came out, the camera video caused fights with her old lawyers, who had helped her win her case. They said she used the video without proper permission and broke her promise not to use it outside court. Last week, her past lawyers, led by Yoko Nishihiro, talked to the press again, saying her use of the video makes things harder for other sex attack cases. Nishihiro said he would not be able to get help for future cases if people knew court proof might be shown to everyone. Nishihiro also said Shiori used voice records without asking and she only found out at a film showing last July. This included the sound of a police worker who later told secrets about how they looked into the case, plus a video of a taxi driver who talked about the night of the reported rape. Her lawyers said both people could be known from the film and never said yes to being in it. Nishihiro said she tried hard to protect Shiori for almost nine years and feels totally hurt by what happened. She wants Shiori to explain herself and take the blame for what she did.
Shiori had said before that she did not ask the hotel if she could use their camera video but said this was the only picture proof she had from the night of her attack. She added that using the police worker sound was needed because the search for truth was hidden and she put out the video for public good. She said she and her past lawyers see things from different places. For her, it helps the public, but for them, rules should not be broken. No one has explained why the film has not been shown in Japan yet. Shiori has said Japan is not ready to talk about these things, but we do not know how much legal problems play a part. In her last statement, Shiori said sorry and would fix parts of the movie to make sure no one could tell who the peopleweree. A changed version will be shown going forward. She told the press there are parts she wishes she did not need to put in the film and parts she does not feel proud of, but she wanted to show all of it and that we are all human. No one is perfect. Nine years after her attack, Shiori fought against Japanese courts, and the press wrote much about this. She wanted to tell this story in her film. When she first went public in 2017, many people sent hate mail and mean messages online. People said she did not cry enough dress right, or seem too strong. Some did not like how her shirt was open at the press talk where she first named Yamaguchi. Shiori left Japan for months because she feared for her life.
Other big cases came after hers. In 2023, past soldier Rina Gonoi told her story and said three old soldiers attacked her. That same year Japan made new laws to change rape from forced sex to sex without yes and raised the age limit from 13 to 16 years old. Gonoi won her case, but Shiori says this shows that speaking up about sex attacks costs much. She asks if seeking justice is worth going through all this. It should not be this way, she says. You must give up a lot. W we do not know if her film will ever play in Japan,n but she says that would mean more than any prize. She calls her film a love letter to Japan. She really hopes one day she can show her film there and her family can watch it. That means more to her than winning an Oscar.
