TOKYO,
After months of delays, a Japanese #MeToo campaigner's documentary premiered in her home country on Friday, with one audience member telling AFP that she hoped it would spark societal change.
Shiori Ito won a landmark 2019 civil case against a Japanese TV reporter accused of raping her—a charge he denies—and turned her ordeal into a film, which was released last year and screened around the world.
However, some segments of "Black Box Diaries" contained video and audio that had been secretly recorded or intended solely for use in court, causing its Japan release to be significantly delayed.
Last month, publicist Toei Advertising announced that the Oscar-nominated film would be shown in Japan following "revisions and adjustments".
"I spent the last ten years making this film, thinking it was going to be a love letter to Japan," Ito said during a screening event at a Tokyo cinema on Friday.
"It means a lot to me that this film was released in Japan, where I grew up, and I want people to confront this issue," she stated.
Ito, who faced fierce online backlash for speaking out, previously stated that, despite several high-profile cases, Japan has never seen an outpouring of #MeToo allegations.
According to government surveys in Japan, few rape victims report the crime to police, despite an increase in consultations at sexual violence support centres.
Many people who saw "Black Box Diaries" on Friday at Tokyo's T-Joy Prince Shinagawa cinema were moved by the film.
"I could not watch it without crying. It's a wonder that she's alive today, and I have nothing but complete respect." Yuko Ono is a publishing house employee.
She is in her sixties, she told AFP.
- 'I suffered in silence' –
The film claimed that police attempts to arrest ex-journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi, whom Ito accuses of raping her in 2015, were thwarted at the last minute on the orders of "higher-ups".
Yamaguchi is known for his close relationship with then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"She relentlessly forced open the monolithic police organisation—that can greatly empower all these people who have suffered in silence," Ono said. Niko Nagata, a twenty-year-old university student, agreed.
"Sexual violence is a specific type of crime with a high risk of re-victimisation, and so-called rape myths persist," she told AFP.
"I hope the film will make many people realise the gravity of sexual violence and inspire societal change." Ito also admitted that "various opinions" about the documentary made him "feel very apologetic".
The director explained in a statement Friday that some changes were made to the most recent edition screened, such as editing out scenes and making some individuals unidentifiable.
Ito's former lawyer, Yoko Nishihiro, said in a statement reported by local media on Thursday that the film is "freighted with serious human rights issues."
The lawyer and her team had previously highlighted a secretly recorded phone conversation and other footage used without permission, including hotel CCTV that was shown in court.
