Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan’s #MeToo Movement

The basis for the Academy Award-nominated documentary Black Box Diaries, this riveting, sobering memoir chronicles one woman’s struggle for justice, calling for change to ensure future victims of sexual assault can come forward without being silenced and humiliated.

In 2015, an aspiring young journalist named Shiori Ito charged prominent reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi with rape. After meeting up for drinks and networking, Ito remembers regaining consciousness in a hotel room while being assaulted. But when she went to the police, Ito was told that her case was a “black box”—untouchable and unprosecutable.

Upon publication in 2017, Ito’s searing account foregrounded the #MeToo movement in Japan and became the center of an urgent cultural and legal shift around recognizing sexual assault and gender-based violence. As international outlets covered every step of her story—even documenting it in the BBC film Japan’s Secret Shame—this book launched a societal reckoning. At the end of 2019, Ito won a civil case against Yamaguchi.

With careful and quiet fury, Black Box recounts a broken system of repression and violence—but it also heralds the beginning of a new solidarity movement seeking a more equitable path toward justice.

伊藤诗织 日本自由记者。知名记者山口敬之强奸女记者事件当事人。她曾两次付诸法律手段，起诉均被驳回。事件在大众媒体上公开后遭来社会上的各种诽谤以及人身攻击。2017年10月，依据自身经历写成的纪实作品《黑箱》出版，在日本社会引起轰动。2018年6月，BBC 报道其事迹的纪录片《日本之耻》上映，在国内外引起热烈反响。