Japan’s Secret Shame
This film, made over the course of a year, follows the story of Shiori Ito, who shocked Japan with a public allegation of rape, in a country where sex crimes are rarely discussed.
In May last year the 29 year-old journalist alleged that she was raped by a well-known TV journalist.
Through Shiori’s testimony, the film outlines her allegations against Noriyuki Yamaguchi, on the night the two met for a business dinner in Tokyo. Yamaguchi, the biographer of Japan’s Prime Minister, strenuously denies her claims. After criminal charges fail to materialise, Ito pursues Yamaguchi with a civil case, and discovers that Japan doesn’t seem ready for a #Metoo movement as she is met with hate mail and public humiliation.
Thursday, BBC2, 9pm