Black Box | Shiori Ito granta.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from granta.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a prominent editor with close ties to then-prime minister
Shinzo Abe, had drugged and raped her following a meeting to discuss a potential job. The police discouraged Ito from filing a report and subjected her to a humiliating interrogation. Yamaguchi denied the charge. And, despite ample evidence in support of Ito’s claim, the police declined to prosecute him.
Ito decided to go public. In doing so, she sparked a reckoning about sexual violence in one of Asia’s most deeply patriarchal societies, where an overwhelming majority of rapes are not reported. Ito’s allegation is credited with launching Japan’s #metoo movement, and it eventually led to a measure of justice: The Japanese government strengthened the country’s century-old laws against rape and in 2019, a court ordered Yamaguchi to pay Ito damages in a civil trial.
Journalist Shiori Ito did not have sufficient evidence to file a criminal case against her rapist Noriyuki Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi must pay an amount in damages but, without proof of violence or intimidation, or of total debility on the victim’s part, he can’t be deemed a criminal.
Ito’s story still rankles Japan’s national conscience, but quietly compared to the widespread activism surrounding #MeToo in other countries. Not only does the structure of Japanese civil society curb large demonstrations, but an attitude of reluctance runs through all media to define a position on misogyny or sexual assault, or to even approach these issues.
Jan 2, 2021
This year witnessed plenty of struggle and loss, but there was at least some good news: 2020 was the year the world embraced the considerable talents of Mieko Kawakami. Readers will therefore be delighted to know that her novel, “
Heaven,” will be published in English in May 2021. Translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd, it tells the story of teenage bullying from the point of view of a 14-year-old boy. Kawakami is a writer who doesn’t shy away from hard truths and painful experiences, so this will not be an easy read, but it’s guaranteed to be a rewarding one.
The Straits Times
Referendum to vote her out unfair, says only female assembly member of town
Ms Shoko Arai said last week that attempts to discredit her amount to a public second rape .PHOTO: FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS CLUB OF JAPAN/YOUTUBE
PublishedDec 25, 2020, 5:00 am SGT
https://str.sg/JRPk
They can read the article in full after signing up for a free account.
Share link:
Or share via:
Sign up or log in to read this article in full
Sign up
All done! This article is now fully available for you
Read now
Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month for the first 3 months.
The shocking sexual assault case that shows the reality of being a woman in Japan
The treatment of a female politician in a rural town has highlighted the country s dubious record on gender equality
10 December 2020 • 2:28pm
One wintry Thursday morning nearly six years ago, Shoko Arai made her way into a meeting with the mayor of Kusatsu, a small Japanese mountain town north west of Tokyo, famed for its hot spring onsen bathing.
At the time, she was the only female member on Kusatsu’s town assembly, an impressive feat in Japan’s long male-dominated political landscape, especially in conservative rural enclaves.