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TOKYO:
A Japanese #MeToo campaigner’s documentary premiered in her homeland on Friday after months of delays, with one audience member telling AFP she hoped it triggered a change in society.
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 released last year and screened worldwide.
But some segments of “Black Box Diaries” contained video and audio that had been clandestinely shot or meant only for use in court, resulting in its Japan release being significantly delayed.
Publicist Toei Advertising announced last month the Oscar-nominated film would finally be shown in Japan after “revisions and adjustments” had been made.
“I’ve spent the last 10 years making this film thinking it was going to be a love letter to Japan”, Ito told 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 where I want people to face this issue,” she said.
Ito, who received vicious online criticism for going public, had previously said that despite several high-profile cases, Japan has never seen an outpouring of #MeToo allegations.
Government surveys in Japan show few rape victims report the crime to the police, although the number of consultations at sexual violence support centres is rising.
“Black Box Diaries” tugged at the heartstrings of many who watched it Friday at cinema T-Joy Prince Shinagawa in Tokyo.
“I couldn’t watch it without crying. It’s a wonder that she’s alive today, and I have nothing but full respect,” Yuko Ono, a publishing house employee in her 60s, told AFP.
