Out of the "black box", Ito Shiori wins: "Japanese rape laws have not changed in the past 110 years"

The Tokyo District Court in Japan ruled in a civil lawsuit against the sexual assault of Shito Ito by Yamaguchi, a female journalist: Shito Ito won the case, and Yamaguchi, former director of TBS Television in Washington and known as "Abe's official reporter", needs to compensate him. At 3.3 million yen, Yamaguchi's counterclaim against Ito's infringement of his right to reputation was also rejected.

On the same day, Shito Ito raised the slogan "Win the lawsuit" outside the courtroom. At the same time, she announced to the world on social media: "I won! Thank you for your support! We have won! Thank you for your support!"

After four years, Ito Shiori v. Yamaguchi's sexual assault case finally won the support of the Japanese judicial system in the civil law court. This is also the first time in Japanese history that a woman has publicly named allegations of sexual assault in the workplace.

Ito Shiori told his experience in his 2017 documentary work "The Black Box", which was published in domestic translation in April 2019. The interface culture (ID: BooksAndFun) also interviewed him in July . Taking this opportunity, we publish this article again, reading old and new articles. At the time, Shito Ito was preparing for the civil court in this case.

"Japanese rape laws haven't changed in the past 110 years. If I didn't go through all this, I wouldn't be aware of the problem," she told interface culture. It is reported that after her incident, in 2017, Japan has begun to amend the rape law. The conclusion of this verdict is also historic.

Ito Shiori:
Most sexual assault cases are not about sexual attempts, but about power

Continuously looking forward and looking back constitute the current state of life of Shito Ito. As a freelance journalist, she has just returned from Ethiopia, and as a documentary director, she is filming the tradition of circumcision in African women and the harm this tradition has done to women. At the same time, one week after returning to Japan from Africa, on July 8, she went to court again for Yamaguchi's case.

Ito Shiori was the victim of a sexual assault. She is the author of "Black Box: Shame of Japan" and the protagonist of the BBC documentary "Shame of Japan". In 2013, Ito, who was an undergraduate in journalism at New York University at the time, met Yasushi Yamaguchi, director of the Japanese branch of TBS Television in Washington, at a working bar. Yamaguchi then invited Ito to visit TBS's New York office and introduced him to the director of the New York office. In 2014, Shito Ito, who was about to graduate, emailed some media to look for internship opportunities, including Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi introduced her in an email to an internship in New York, and Ito was grateful for it. In 2015, after graduating and returning to China, Ito, who worked at the Reuters reporter station in Japan, considered returning to work in the United States. Because Yamaguchi had previously said that the TBS Washington Branch recruits interns at any time, she sent him an email to ask about internship opportunities. Yamaguchi said she did have an internship and invited her to meet at a restaurant in Tokyo on the evening of April 4, 2015 to discuss work visas and work-related issues.

Shito Ito in the documentary "Shame of Japan"

That night, the two went to a restaurant, a skewer restaurant, and a sushi restaurant. I drank for a while at the first store and two glasses of beer and one or two glasses of red wine at the skewer store Ito Shiori. She usually drinks well and is not drunk. In a sushi restaurant, Ito Shiori went to the bathroom before drinking the second sake (the traditional unit of measurement of Japanese sake, which is less than 180 ml, equivalent to a medium bottle of beer and a quarter bottle of red wine). After coming out of the bathroom and returning to her seat, she suddenly felt uncomfortable and got up again to go to the bathroom. As soon as she entered the bathroom, she immediately felt that the sky was spinning, and she sat down on the toilet lid, her head resting on the water tank. After that, he was unconscious.

When she woke up again, she first felt a terrible pain, and then found that Kaguchi Yamaguchi was pressing heavily on her, making her unable to move. Throughout the process, he completely ignored Ito Shiori's physical resistance and verbal interrogation, and afterwards he persuaded: "Do people really like you?" He also casually communicated with him in the email. Ito Shiori discusses work-related issues, and when she brought up that night, Yamaguchi gave a completely different version. In his narrative, the incident was because Ito Shiori was so drunk that he brought her back to the hotel out of good intentions. She climbed to his bed after going to the bathroom, saying that she "accidentally drunk too much ". In the case of a little bit of drunkenness, Yamaguchi saw "such a beautiful girl crawled to the bed half-naked, and something happened naturally." "I use my power to approach you and persuade you to have sex? Never! Never!" Yamaguchi asked Shiori Ito in an email.

Facing Yamaguchi's denial, Shito Ito went to the police station with the encouragement of his friends to report the crime. What surprised her, however, was that this was just the beginning of a long journey. The difficulties she encountered in dealing with police stations, judicial procedures, and the mass media since then made her realize that talking about sexual assault publicly in Japan was like talking about an elephant in a room. Initiating a lawsuit related to sexual assault is to make public the unspeakable incident that was originally confined to the private domain. As the prosecutor in charge of the Ito Shiori case said: "The incident took place in a private space and was a 'black box.'" As a journalist and party, the more Ito Shiori tried to open the "black box," the Japanese The more “black boxes” are found in investigative agencies and the judicial system. These "black boxes" point to secondary injuries to victims of sexual assault, difficulties in collecting evidence after sexual assault cases, obstacles caused by unequal power relations in such cases, and to sexual assault in the Japanese legal system. Long-term neglect of the case.

However, leveraging the "black box" is not easy. This involves both the involvement of time and energy, as well as the repeated hurts of past painful experiences, and the tremendous courage to face the public and the judicial system's disregard and even maliciousness.

On April 30, 2015, Shito Ito submitted a report and indictment.

On June 8, 2015, two months after the crime, the police applied for an arrest warrant based on the evidence gathered and obtained a court permission to issue it. Then on the day of the arrest of Kazuyuki Yamaguchi, the operation was stopped by Nakamura Nakamura, the top criminal minister of the Japanese Police Agency. Prior to that, all police officers and prosecutors responsible for the case were suddenly removed from the case. The case was handed over to a new police officer and a new round of investigation was launched.

On July 22, 2016, the police announced that the case would not be prosecuted because of insufficient evidence.

On May 29, 2017, Shito Ito held a press conference at the Judicial Journalists Club, submitted a review application to the prosecutor's review agency, and announced the decision to the public at the press conference.

On September 22, 2017, the procuratorial review committee decided on this case: this case will not be prosecuted. The final conclusion was that the prosecutor's decision in this case was correct.

In April 2019, Yamaguchi countered against Ito Shiori, demanding that Ito Shiori pay 100 million yen in compensation, and publicly apologized in newspapers and media across the country. Yamaguchi said that Ito's public disclosure of the case and her continuous exposure through books and documentaries, etc., prevented him from receiving a job within one year, lost his exposure, and caused double reputational and economic losses.

The case opened on July 8, 2019.

Screenshot of the documentary "Shame of Japan" with Yamaguchi Keiyuki in the middle

On July 9, Interface Culture (ID: Booksandfun) conducted a video interview with Shito Ito. Four years have passed since the incident. Ito Shiori's life track changed. Her life is not as upset as the outside world thinks-she is not immersed in the shadows of the victims every day to wash her face with tears. She is still working on a journalism she loves and believes in. She has gone from being a victim of sexual assault to being an advocate for gender equality, and based on her experience, she is trying to correct a gender bias that is deeply rooted in Japanese culture.

          I do n’t wash my face with tears every day

Ito Shiori: It's not easy. Whenever I talk about this again, I always think of Yamaguchi. Just like yesterday, Mr. Yamaguchi's lawyer kept asking me what happened. Every time I recall, it's like going through the whole thing again.

This book has changed a lot since it was published in October 2017. As the anti-sexual harassment campaign broke out in the United States in October, public opinion has changed dramatically. Some changes have also taken place in Japan, although they have been unusually slow. But for me, it has been very interesting to witness the changes in the past few years.

This memory is not easy for me, it is a strange experience for me. But I know this is not only my own story, but also a lot of women's stories. So I think it's important to emphasize women's aspirations and to what extent we share the same experience and story.

Shito Ito: Admittedly, I am indeed a victim. In the past few years, I have received a lot of labels, such as survivors, victims, and many malicious nicknames, but I try to focus on living my life. The message I want to convey is that even if this happens to you, it will not change who you are. You have absolute rights to be yourself. I remember I also wrote in the book that once this kind of thing happens to you, you will feel out of control of your life, as if someone is holding you back. Especially in the media and on the Internet, they have a relatively fixed description of the victim. From dress to posture, you must conform to the image of a perfect victim. This is what I want to resist. I don't wash my face in tears every day, or appear as a victim every day. This is just the image the police and the media want me to show.

         I have hope for the news, I do n’t have much hope for Japan

Ito Shiori: I live in Asian society and live in Japan, and I can probably imagine how people will react when such incidents occur. I experienced a legal process failure, my case was interrupted, and I realized how little support was given to such cases, especially to victims of sexual assault, that victims could not seek justice, and the media was working Avoid touching such cases, especially when power is involved. I think that most cases of sexual assault occur in an unequal power structure. This is not about sexual attempts, but about power. It is the power imposed by one person on another.

I remember in the book I wrote that being a girl who grew up in Japan, being sexually harassed by idiots forms part of our daily lives. I told this to a foreign reporter at the time. This report was later translated into Japanese, and the Japanese people reacted extremely violently when they saw it. Some people accuse me, why are you so unpatriotic? This made me realize that talking about sexual harassment in Japan is taboo. So when I wrote this book and decided to stand up and talk about it publicly, in a way, it was a suicidal blow to my private life. It will be difficult for me to continue to live like that before. But I have hope for the news, I don't have much hope for Japan, but I believe the storytelling can reach some people in some form. If I go to the downside, I am almost about to give up my private life. I didn't know what would happen to my personal life when I wrote this book and when it was published.

Looking back on my experience, I often think that there are indeed two of me. One I tried to ask questions like a journalist, and the other I was a victim. This is my story, it's about me, but at the same time, it's too painful for me to live and exist as a victim. I have faith in the news concept of telling the truth. I question many questions, question authority, and question the system. If this is not my belief, this is not my profession, I may be silent.

Silence is fine, I don't think people have to stand up and tell such a traumatic story. I think everyone has a different way of living. Survival first. To me, survival means telling the truth, because it forms the most basic part of me. This is of course full of struggles, and I am still struggling. It takes time. The identity of a journalist has been protecting my traumatic experience. I can't predict when this thing will pass, and when my life will be back on track, because there is no such moment, I can say: it is over. I need to live with this experience, it has become part of me.

Talking about it helped me to explore more other answers. Asking such a question in Japan did not answer my question. But when I talked about it with people all over the world, I saw many possibilities, such as improving the law. But this process is very long. The first thing that needs to be changed is people's perceptions, and this is often the most difficult step. So I think storytelling is the first step to change. It affects and changes people's minds.

I feel my character is stubborn! And I don't know what I can do besides being a journalist. I believe in the importance of telling the truth, but I don't have much confidence in telling the truth before the public. If I don't tell, if I don't pursue the truth, then I should not be a journalist. But at the same time, many people told me at the time that if I wanted to be a reporter, I shouldn't accuse Kazuyuki Yamaguchi, because it would ruin my career prospects. It turns out it's not true, but it's because I can speak English. If I only speak Japanese and can only work in Japan, my career is really over. Now my focus of life and work has shifted to the UK. If I do n’t have this option, I do n’t know how I will live in Japan. I have never planned, I would rather not go through all these things myself.

         Japan does not even have the concept of "agree"

After sexual harassment, women who can go to legal process are most likely to be well-educated and financially capable girls. Women who do not have a good education or are not financially able to support expensive and time-consuming legal procedures may not be able to choose.

Ito Shiori: Indeed. This is exactly what I want to change. As a citizen, we have no access to legal aid, which is very unfair. Civil lawsuits are expensive, and although criminal proceedings do not cost money, they require a lot of time and effort. You need to report your whereabouts, and there is a sense of shame in the process, which in itself is prohibitive for many people.

My family is not rich. I come from a working-class family. My parents are actually opposed to litigation and I can understand them. To be honest, the possibility of seeking justice under the existing Japanese legal system is very small. How much time and money you invest will not ensure that you will get a fair decision by the law, not even a small sense of dignity. I also often wonder, what have I got in the past few years? Of course I got my truth, but from a legal perspective, I'm not sure. Japan's rape bill has not changed in the past 110 years. If I hadn't gone through all this, I wouldn't have realized the problem. When I go to China, I want to know what rape laws are like in China. Every time I talk about it, especially in the Western context, they are shocked. Why is a country as developed as Japan like the Middle Ages in women's affairs. I think I have a responsibility myself, Because I never questioned this legal system.

Discussion on the definition of rape in "Shame of Japan"

When it comes to litigation and law, I think it's very frustrating that sexual harassment or rape is an offense that leaves marks on the victim, whether physical or spiritual, and the victim needs to pass Prove this trace to convict the perpetrator.

Ito Shiori: I think we can make more changes than expected. The US anti-sexual harassment campaign is indeed quite effective. Swedish law has now changed, and it is determined that sexual acts without consent are rapes, even if they do not involve threats or violence; explicit consent must be communicated through words or physical acts. Behind this is a change in the whole idea, and the problem in Japan is that we don't even have the concept of "consent". As you said, the victim must prove signs of threats or violence, otherwise he will not be able to prove it.

A terrible case occurred last March about a 19-year-old daughter and her father. The girl has been raped by her father since the age of 14. The judge determined that there was compulsive sex, but she was not punished because she could not prove a physical threat. The judge believed that the girl was still living a normal life, so agreement was actually reached between the father and the daughter. Behind this is the question of the way of thinking. We do not have a way of thinking about consent. There is no clear concept of what is obedience and what is rejection. It is not appropriate to look only at physical threats, because there may be mental threats that we simply cannot see and discover. So now we are working to change this law.

         If I don't care about Japan, why should I talk about rape and women?

As a journalist who pays attention to gender issues, a situation that makes me very frustrated is that many times people don't read your article and start to criticize without understanding the point you want to convey. In your experience, I guess there should be many such frustrated moments, how do you cope?

Ito Shiori: For many people, it is difficult for them to establish a connection between my experience and themselves. They will think that what happened to me is far away from them, and therefore show indifference or ignore it. I am still struggling to tell my story to other women. This is not because we are the same gender and they are more empathetic and understanding. This is not the case. This has always been a challenge for me. When filming a documentary about female circumcision in Africa, I realized that the situation of women is very similar in all parts of the world. The difference is only the specific problems and expressions. The logic and thinking behind the behavior and how society views women are actually akin.

One of the reasons I like to make documentaries is that I can focus on a person, a story, you see her face, you hear her name, you hear her tell your story to you, and when you bring her in When you see her experience and experience, you are actually more empathetic. What I'm trying to do now is tell stories through their eyes. This is still very difficult. Sometimes people don't like such stories because they don't want to change. But even so, I think these stories still have value because it arrived somewhere and made some people uncomfortable, which is good. But an argument I don't like is that people associate this expression with discrediting Japan and not being patriotic. If I don't care about Japan, why should I talk about these things?

Screenshot of the documentary "Shame of Japan"

Are there any more active feminist groups in Japan?

Ito Shiori: Compared with the United Kingdom or the United States, Japanese groups are not so active. Compared with our neighbor South Korea, I think they are much more active than us. One of the reasons is that Japanese society is highly hierarchical. When I was in Taiwan, I met women's groups there and saw how women of different ages can work together. But in Japan, although there are famous feminists, it is difficult for many people to talk to them because of their high status. Even within women's groups, different hierarchies are creating high walls. This kind of thing can happen in other countries, but it is especially obvious in Japan because we have a strong hierarchical heritage. This is frustrating. In my opinion, the feminist movement should unite all women, not internally hierarchical. But I can also feel that this situation is slowly changing.

Need more time.

Ito Shiori: Yes, it takes time. I don't know how much time we need to be able to break all of them. But one thing needs to be said is that we don't want to wait for terrible cases to change before they are enough. We need to change now. I hope I can make a bigger voice and promote this change.