Shiori was raped after a job interview. When police wouldn't help, she investigated it herself.

Content warning: This story includes descriptions of sexual assault and domestic violence that may be distressing to some readers/listeners.

In 2015, Shiori Itō was an aspiring journalist with dreams of making it in Japan's competitive media industry.

The story she would end up telling wasn't supposed to be her own. But one dinner meeting would change the course of her life — transforming her from a reporter into the reluctant face of Japan's #MeToo movement.

Shiori had agreed to meet Noriyuki Yamaguchi — a powerful media figure and the former Washington Bureau Chief of TBS TV station in Tokyo — for dinner to discuss a potential job opportunity in America.

What happened next is still a blur to Shiori, as she claims she does not remember anything else from that evening. Just that, when she woke up, she was being assaulted.

"I have no memory of that night," Shiori is heard saying in a new Oscar-nominated documentary, Black Box Diaries. "When I woke up, I was being raped."

After being allegedly drugged and raped by Yamaguchi, Shiori did what victims are told to do: she went to the police. But in a country where speaking about sexual assault is deeply taboo, justice would prove elusive.

Watch the trailer for Black Box Diaries. Article continues after video.

"They said, 'These things happen a lot, and it will never be investigated or prosecuted. So we can't deal with you. I'm sorry,'" Shiori recalled of her first interaction with the police following her alleged assault.

The reason? According to the documentary, some believe Yamaguchi's connections to then-Prime Minister Shinzō Abe played a role in the criminal case being dropped.

"The criminal case was dropped. That's why he was very proudly saying that he didn't do anything illegal," Shiori said during a Q&A at BFI Southbank.

But Shiori refused to be silenced.

She began compiling evidence for a civil suit against her perpetrator and started writing a book about her experience.

The book, released in 2017, was titled Black Box. The name drew inspiration from a prosecutor who told her the alleged assault was an "unactionable black box" because it occurred in private.

At first, Shiori decided to start recording all her conversations with police and prosecutors in an attempt to protect herself.

But after the criminal case was mysteriously dropped, against pleas from her family, she stepped in front of cameras at a news conference and publicly named her alleged attacker.

"I believe storytelling can change society. That's why I made this film. This film is my love letter to my sister and to Japan," she said of her hopes that the documentary would inspire change in her home country.

Shiori Itō became a prominent figure in Japan's #MeToo movement. Image: Getty.

Armed with her journalistic instincts and a camera, she documented everything.

The security footage showing her being dragged from a taxi. The confession of the taxi driver who witnessed it, but didn't intervene. Her own raw, unfiltered emotions as she investigated her alleged rape.

Her recordings would form the basis of her 2024 documentary film, Black Box Diaries.

The documentary itself has faced accusations of using footage without permission, with the controversy surrounding this still ongoing.

Working with accomplished film producer Eric Nyari, Shiori transformed her personal video diary into something revolutionary — a documentary that puts viewers directly in the shoes of a sexual assault survivor fighting for justice in a culture of silence.

Shiori Itō made her directorial debut with Black Box Diaries. Image: Dogwoof.

Through Shiori's lens, we see the real cost of speaking up in a society that often punishes those who do. But we also witness her extraordinary resilience as she pursues a civil case against her alleged attacker and inadvertently becomes the catalyst for change in Japan's legal system.

Shiori later won her civil suit against Yamaguchi, which became a landmark case in Japan's #MeToo movement.

But the reality of her 'win' was far from perfect. The approximate $30,000 USD in damages he was ordered to pay were not even enough to cover Shiori's legal fees.

Despite her efforts, Shiori's case is one that reminds us how much work still has to be done.

Shiori won her civil case against her alleged attacker. Image: Dogwoof

In June 2023, following pressure from the public amongst the growing conversations about sexual violence in Japan, Japan's parliament passed amendments to the Penal Code which raised the age of sexual consent from 13 to 16 years old. The statute of limitations for reporting rape was also extended from 10 to 15 years.

The documentary has already made history with its Oscar nomination, but its real impact may be in the conversations it starts and the changes it inspires in Japan and beyond.

Watch Black Box Diaries on DocPlay from February 24.

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Mamamia is a charity partner of RizeUp Australia, a national organisation that helps women, children and families move on after the devastation of domestic and family violence. Their mission is to deliver life-changing and practical support to these families when they need it most. If you would like to support their mission you can donate here.

Feature Image: Dogwoof.