Japan's Secret Shame (2018) - full transcript

This programme contains scenes

which some viewers may find

upsetting and contains some strong

language.

I met him in a bar.

I remember googling him afterwards,

and I saw him talking with Prime

Ministers, so that surprised me.

I remember Mr Yamaguchi saying, "We

are always looking for interns."

If I accuse someone like that, maybe

I won't be able to work again.

This is my first time, that I go to

court for my case.

I'm a little bit nervous.

If the guy decided to come,

he would be there,

and this would be my first time to

face this person

after these two years.

In 2015, 25-year-old Shiori Ito

filed rape charges

against 48-year-old Noriyuki

Yamaguchi, a prominent journalist

in Japan.

Today, more than two years later,

she is preparing for her first

day in court.

In Japan, people rarely come forward

with allegations of sexual assault.

Shiori is part of a tiny minority

who take their cases to court.

In May 2017, Shiori shocked

Japan when she went public

with rape allegations.

It polarised public opinion, and

many just didn't believe her.

But for others, she has

become a heroine.

Japan is a very sexual society.

You can go buy a sports newspaper

at any kiosk,

and it will list where are the best

places to get a blow job,

or who is doing the best

sexual massage.

Any sexual service that you possibly

want, you can buy in Japan.

But to talk about date rape,

or sexual assault,

it is not something that is even on

talk show fodder.

You don't see open

discussions about that.

Rape is alleged in the UK 50 times

more often than in Japan.

Some claim this shows how safe the

country is for women.

But campaigners say it's because

women are simply too scared

to come forward.

Despite being one of the most

advanced nations in the world,

Japan's rape laws date back to 1907,

and didn't change

for more than a century.

Until last year, the crime of

rape in Japan

had a shorter minimum

sentence than theft.

Shiori met Noriyuki Yamaguchi while

she was studying journalism

in New York in 2013.

I think it was autumn.

The second year of my college.

I was supporting myself working

at a bar.

He was with, I think, four or five

different people, drinking.

It was quite shocking to meet

someone very high profile,

and who has achieved what I

want to do.

So I had so much respect.

Mr Yamaguchi was

Washington bureau chief

for a Japanese broadcaster

at the time.

He said, get in touch with me if you

ever need something.

Motoko Rich investigated Shiori's

allegations for over six months.

He's incredibly well-known in Japan.

Both because he was the Washington

bureau chief

at a TV network that's one of a

handful of TV networks

where people get their news.

On top of that, he was a biographer

of Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister.

He was known to be relatively close

to Mr Abe,

that he had spent a lot of time with

him, had golfed with him.

The biography was very positive.

So, I think, a lot of

the allegations

that there had been some political

interference come from the closeness

of that relationship.

After they met, Shiori e-mailed

Mr Yamaguchi about possible work

several times.

In March 2015, she contacted him

from Tokyo to see if there were any

opportunities in Washington.

I e-mailed him saying, do you have

any opening for interns?

And he said, "Of course.

"If it's interns, we're always

looking for someone.

"But we also have a job opening

for producer.

"Are you interested?"

I was like, I was so excited

because, of course!

That's amazing.

Mr Yamaguchi told Shiori they would

need to arrange a US work visa.

He suggested a meeting when he was

in Tokyo the following month.

It was Friday night, so it was quite

packed, I remember.

He was already eating and drinking

at this small Kushiyaki place.

But he told me, this is not the

place we were planning to eat.

Can you just, yeah, stay with me for

a couple of drinks

and then we can go on.

And then we moved on to the

next sushi restaurant.

He started pointing out all the

places he knows.

"Oh, I've been there with, blah,

blah, blah.

"Oh, I went... been there with

blah, blah, blah."

OK, that's the ex-prime minister, or

a very famous politician.

So I was like,

"That's cool, that's great."

We arrived to a sushi place and we

started ordering small sake.

I was sort of feeling a bit...

Uneasy. Started questioning, why

am I here?

I thought we were going to discuss

about a working visa.

That topic didn't come up.

We had this small bottle, and I

remember he was ordering

the side one, so it's very small.

And then all of a sudden I started

feeling very dizzy.

And I decided to go to the bathroom.

And then remember...

The last thing I remember was to

rest my head on the water tank,

and that was all I remember

that night.

Mr Yamaguchi maintains that

Shiori was conscious

and gave full consent to everything

that followed. But in fact,

there is no mention of consent in

Japan's century old rape laws.

In this country, there's a different

definition of what actually is rape.

There still is this sense that it is

not criminal, unless it's a stranger

attacking you and you fight back and

you are hurt.

And if it happens between two people

who know each other,

it can't possibly be rape.

And if there's drink involved,

that's really not rape either.

According to Japanese statutes, to

prove rape it is necessary to show

the use of force or intimidation.

Research has shown that many victims

simply freeze

when they are attacked.

Mr Yamaguchi has denied all

allegations of sexual misconduct.

He has only given one public

interview about the incident,

on a political chat show hosted

by Kazuyoshi Hanada.

Shiori was helped out of the toilet

by restaurant staff.

She and Mr Yamaguchi left in

a taxi together.

What we now know from the testimony

of the taxi driver,

she repeatedly asked him to take her

to a train station,

because she wanted to get on a train

to go home.

Mr Yamaguchi said, "Well, I don't

think you can go by yourself.

"I have a hotel room. We still have

something to talk about work."

And he directed the taxi driver to

drive to his hotel.

The taxi driver said that he heard

Shiori go silent

in the back-seat of car.

CCTV from the hotel shows

Mr Yamaguchi getting Shiori

out of the taxi and propping her up,

as they walked to the lifts.

Shiori has not been back to the

hotel for over two years.

She is returning to see if she can

piece together more

about what happened that night.

I think I just wanted to face it.

I don't know, face what? But...

And I can already feel that my body

is reacting.

It's the light I remember, you know?

This light.

Yeah, it's the same.

I woke up with this intense pain.

The first thing maybe I say was,

itai, it hurts.

He didn't stop.

The only way I could

get out was when I said,

"I have to go to the bathroom,

I need to pee. Now!"

I remember seeing this small

body wash towel,

all the men's cosmetics were

placed very neatly.

And then I realised, I'm in a hotel

room, where he is staying.

I was confused.

I didn't know what had happened,

how I got there.

I tried to find my clothes and get

my stuff and out,

but then he was standing in front of

the bathroom door.

And he pushed me on the bed again.

I tried to fight, but he

was quite strong.

I wasn't able to get any air,

and he was on top of me,

on my head, and I couldn't breathe.

And I thought, this is it.

I'm going to die here.

It felt like I am pleasing him more

saying, stop, please, in Japanese.

So I cursed at him in English.

I said, "Fuck off.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

In Japanese he said,

"Ii gouka dayo"

So he said, "You've passed."

And I got panicked, like,

what do you mean?

And then all the shame came on me.

Like...

I didn't...

I didn't... I didn't do this.

But I did. He did.

And I passed.

SHE BREATHES HEAVILY

Shiori suspects she may

have been drugged.

But acknowledges she has no evidence

as no drug test was administered.

Mr Yamaguchi says Shiori

lost her memory

because she drank too much alcohol.

Mr Yamaguchi says that in his

room Shiori was repeatedly sick,

and partially undressed

and fell asleep.

He says that when she woke up she

was sober, and apologised to him for

getting drunk. And that when they

later had sex,

she was an active participant and

showed no signs of resistance.

He says they parted the next morning

on good terms

and that she e-mailed him initially

without mentioning any assault.

Shiori denies that her e-mails

implied she consented.

Shiori's case has become part of a

growing debate

about traditional gender roles

in Japan.

There is a sense in the culture that

it's OK for a man to view women as

objects. You know, it's

only very recently

that certain porn magazines are not

visibly displayed

at these convenience stores where

families go and buy milk

and eggs, and newspapers,

and what have you.

There they are, displayed

on the racks.

And some of these involve

rape fantasies.

And there are men who are getting

their sex education from them.

It's a common motif in

Japanese erotica,

of the woman resisting and then the

man imposing himself on her

and then she decides that,

oh, she likes it.

I really wish I could

go back and tell myself

what I should have done.

I didn't know. No-one told me.

Shiori called a rape crisis centre

on the outskirts of Tokyo,

but they refused to give her

any advice

unless she attended an interview

in person.

At that time I felt like I couldn't

even move out from bed.

And it was just scary to take

public transportation by myself,

travel two hours to get there.

Though she didn't visit at the time,

Shiori now wants to see the

centre for herself.

They can see us, they said.

The rape crisis centre has asked for

the location

to be kept confidential.

Most of the staff members also asked

for their identities to be hidden.

The centre is run by

Kazuko Hirakawa.

It is the capital's only 24 hour

rape crisis centre,

serving a population of

13 million people.

The centre receives around

6,000 phone calls a year.

But of those, only around

100 of the callers visit in person.

Police investigations benefit from

forensic evidence

being taken from an alleged victim

as soon as possible.

This is done with what's known as a

rape kit.

But in Japan, these kits are

currently only stocked in hospitals,

in 14 of the country's 47 regions.

Five days after the alleged assault,

Shiori went to her local police

station to report her allegations.

There were several people waiting in

this waiting room.

At the reception, I had to tell him

that I wanted to speak

with a female officer.

And he asked me why.

I have to tell him that I was raped.

This female officer took me to one

of the investigation rooms

and she asked me what had happened.

It took me two hours, and I cried

so much.

I was having a panic attack.

She told me, I'm sorry, but

I am actually

from the traffic department,

and I can't file your case.

So can you talk to a

male investigator?

You've got a police force that is

overwhelmingly male.

So, if you have all males

investigating this,

with some very backward ideas on

what is sexual assault,

what is sexual consent, then you're

going to have problems.

Shiori was assigned an investigator

in the Takanawa district,

30 minutes away. She was called in

to re-enact her account

of what happened.

On the top floor of the

Takanawa police,

they have this, sort of, like, gym.

I think there were three

investigators overall.

And they were all male.

I had to lay down on this soft,

blue mattress on the floor.

And they brought this big,

life-size doll.

And they placed it on top of me and,

sort of, started to move it

and taking photos of it, asking me,

was it like this,

or was it like that.

All the flash made me

so dizzy and sick,

and I have to turn off my mind...

..to try to not think about what

is going on.

Recreating alleged assaults using

dolls is a method commonly used

by the police in Japan.

Campaigners have criticised the

traumatising effect this can have on

women. Some even calling it

the second rape.

Over the next two months,

the police obtained CCTV evidence

from the hotel,

further witness statements, and DNA

from Shiori's clothing.

A warrant was issued for

Mr Yamaguchi's arrest.

The investigator had what he thought

was a case.

They were set to arrest Yamaguchi.

He was coming back through Narita

airport in Tokyo, from Washington,

the Washington bureau.

Shiori says the investigator was

then called by a senior officer and

instructed not to arrest

Mr Yamaguchi.

The police will not comment

on the case,

but a top Tokyo police official,

Itaru Nakamura, has since confirmed

in the press

that he stopped the arrest.

Let me tell you, as someone who has

been covering the police here

since 1993, this doesn't happen.

When you get an arrest warrant for a

crime as serious as rape,

you don't shelve it.

You arrest the person and you

interrogate them.

That's how it works.

If he wasn't a friend of the

Prime Minister,

would he have been allowed

to walk away?

The case was then transferred to the

Tokyo Metropolitan Police,

but in August 2016,

after a 12-month investigation,

prosecutors decided that there

was insufficient evidence

to pursue a case against

Mr Yamaguchi.

Part of me, I have to be honest with

you, I thought,

maybe I should forget about it.

This is maybe the way you have to

be as a woman.

And that really disgusts me.

I felt, this is wrong, because I

haven't done anything wrong.

To successfully appeal the decision,

Shiori felt she would have to

undertake her own investigation,

a task that was to take

her nine months.

Today is 2017, May the 7th.

I'm recording this because I know

the truth I have,

and I claim what happened to me

two years ago, will be public now.

And I do want to do this, to talk

about truth, and...

..ask for justice for the future.

Shiori is appealing the decision to

drop her case,

and going against centuries

of tradition,

she has also decided to go public

with her allegations.

I felt that I tried every path that

I can take.

And talking to public, openly was

the only choice that I have left.

I had a big no-no from my family.

They really didn't want me to do it.

I remember exactly what my sister

say, "Why is it has to be you?"

It was clear right from the moment

that she gave her public press

conference that it was

highly unusual.

Someone came forward,

was willing to give her own name and

talk about it on the record

and also name this person who was a

very prominent journalist in Japan.

She was putting her neck out.

It was a huge risk.

In Japan, we tend to put a lid on

things that are unpleasant.

She came out very publicly and, you

know, I think some people reacted,

you know, how shameful to come out.

You know, these are private things.

You know, don't talk about your

private things in public.

"Bitch.

"She's always sleeping around to get

these things.

"She must be a prostitute.

"Go back to Korea."

I... Yeah, there is just my

family's photo.

"Shiori's father,

who has scary eyes."

They're targeting me, our family.

My sister, her face is going to be

on internet

and she didn't sign up for this.

Yeah, so...

..I don't want her to go

through this.

No-one. I don't want anyone to

go through this.

As Shiori's story gains traction in

the press,

Government MPs and political

commentators begin publicly

questioning her account.

CAMERA OPERATOR: Have you ever

experienced any discrimination

or harassment?

Mr Yamaguchi's closeness to the

Prime Minister

means the story quickly becomes

highly politicised.

Opposition MPs set up a cross-party

panel to question the authorities

about the dropped arrest warrant.

Representatives from the National

Police Agency

and Ministry of Justice attend to

answer questions

but demand that their faces are not

shown by the press.

Japan's National

Police Agency maintains

that there was no misconduct in

the resignation of Shiori's case.

But as her story grows ever

more political,

Shiori becomes increasingly anxious.

After going public I felt unsafe.

It wasn't just me who

was threatened.

It was my family, my friends, so the

paranoia and the fear I had,

I was scared.

People with power can do what

they want to do.

And I'm just... I'm no-one.

I actually called the discount store

nearby my house,

asking, "Do you have wire detector?"

BEEPING

I had to live a completely

different life.

I couldn't use public

transportation.

I couldn't go out.

I miss going out with my friends to

the bar, to cafe,

without thinking about anything.

Without people seeing me, in a way.

Yeah. I miss that.

Shiori's appeal to have her case

reopened has been considered

by a review panel of 11 members

of the public.

If her appeal fails,

there will be no further possibility

of criminal charges.

With Shiori's appeal rejected,

Mr Yamaguchi is no longer under

criminal investigation.

He announces that he will be

resuming his work as a journalist.

He was never arrested or indicted

for a crime.

And, I think, in fairness, we need

to point that out.

He was never arrested or

indicted for a crime.

So as far as the criminal justice

system is concerned,

there is no case against him.

Three months on from losing

her appeal,

Shiori has become a campaigner on

issues around sexual assault.

She's been invited to address

students at Sophia University,

in Tokyo.

You know, Japanese education could

do a lot better.

The numbers that I saw

among my students,

I think is a sign that the education

system really failed in that aspect

of really educating about consent.

And so we were extremely fortunate

to have Shiori come to our class,

talking about the issues

around sexual assault.

If you grow up in Japanese society

everyone has experienced sexual

violence or sexual assault, but not

everyone considers it was.

Especially when you start using

public transportation

as a high school girl. That's when

it happens everyday.

So, whenever we get to the classroom

that was always the topic.

Today this man jerk off on me.

Today this man caught my skirt.

But this was something that we have

to deal with.

We never report it.

One of the questions that I asked

students was whether

they know anyone that

has been raped.

22 students in the class said yes.

This is not just train

molestation, this is rape.

And so my question is,

how many of those did the women

actually come forth

or tell the authorities?

Women just are not coming

forth with it,

so it kinda stays

underneath the surface.

After her unsuccessful appeal,

Shiori is now filing a civil case

against Mr Yamaguchi.

She's meeting with her lawyer,

Yuko Nashihiro, before submitting

the case papers to court.

If Mr Yamaguchi loses, he will have

to pay damages.

He's defending the case,

and denies any wrongdoing.

The case could take more than a

year and a half.

This case could affect the case

which would come in the future.

So I do feel pressure, that we have

to do our best.

Taking civil case is the only way I

can ask this question again,

so we have this evidence, we have

this video, we have this witness.

What do you think?

In October 2017, allegations against

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein

make global headlines.

The #MeToo movement sees women

around the world making allegations

of sexual misconduct.

But in Japan, the response is muted.

One of the reasons the #MeToo

movement hasn't taken off in Japan

is because a lot of women here are

like, what? You know, like, groped?

Like, not sexually assaulted,

not raped?

You're upset about being groped?

Or having someone try to pressure

you into having sex?

Like, that's your level of outrage?

Like, that's nothing.

Like, that's our daily lives.

The #MeToo movement leads to renewed

publicity around Shiori's case and

Japanese women begin to reach out to

Shiori in private.

I start getting e-mails

from survivors.

That was surprising.

I didn't expect that people would

start talking to me.

Shiori has come to meet a woman who

says she was sexually assaulted

at knife-point by

a stranger a year ago.

She only ever told one friend and

didn't report it to the police.

We have this word which is

"gaman-tsuyoi", "nintai-tsuyoi".

It's often talked in a positive way

that how enduring,

how being patient, is a good thing.

But being enduring,

being patient about this pain,

being silent,

keeping this into yourself,

I don't think it had helped much.

And I think that is why it has been

hard for people to talk about it.

There are signs that the government

is beginning to take the issue more

seriously. In 2017,

the first-ever nationwide fund

to support sexual

crime victims is established.

The government has committed

£1 million to this fund.

By comparison the UK, with half

the population of Japan,

spends 40 times this amount.

Shiori's case has caught

the attention of policymakers

and she manages to arrange a meeting

at the Cabinet Office.

Kazuaki Sagita is from

the Gender Equality Bureau.

The #MeToo movement means

Shiori's claims

are being more widely

reported abroad.

Opposition MPs use the opportunity

to question the Prime Minister.

There are other signs

of change in Japan.

In a historic move, the Japanese

parliament reforms the law on rape

for the first time in 110 years.

The minimum sentence is increased

from three years to five,

and men are allowed to allege rape

for the first time.

The day of Shiori's first court

hearing is approaching.

I think it's a letter.

Ah, so, they've been...

It's like...

It's like...

Supporting letter.

The parcel of cards has been sent by

a citizens group in Aichi,

a region in central Japan.

"We are on your back."

"Don't give up."

"You're not alone."

Wow. That's...

Just amazing.

"I'm an 80 years old grandma,

"but I'm sending you my best energy

to you.

"Go, Shiori."

"I'm always watching you.

We are all on your side."

I never realised how powerful this

could be.

"The memory of sexual experience

should be a happy memory,

"not the pain."

That is just so sweet.

It's just so sweet.

Wow.

# Just turn around now

# You're not welcome any more

# Weren't you the one who tried to

hurt me with goodbye?

# Did you think I'd crumble?

# Did you think I'd lay down

and die?

# Oh, no, not I!

# I will survive. #

I need to feel cheerful.

I don't want to put sad face.

I do want to show that I'm OK.

And I'm not doing this all alone.

I'm doing this with everyone else.

It's the day of Shiori's first

civil hearing.

She hasn't been to the courts

since she did her press conference

there six months ago.

SHE MIMES TO THE RADIO:

# I will survive! Hey, hey! #

I remember the first

press conference,

I saw some familiar faces among the

journalists, so I start smiling.

But then I got backlash on that.

They were all, like, why is

she smiling?

Why is she...? You know.

And especially media,

they just take the...

When I have more serious face on me,

so every time I see these newspaper

and photo, I go like this.

This is such a different feeling

than the last time

I went to the court.

I remember it was really green.

And I was so scared.

But this time it feels very

different, and...

..just makes me think it's

been six months.

Since I became this girl

who was raped, to the public.

I've no regrets of what I did.

I know at the same time I

had no choice.

I do feel a change. And it all has

to start from people.

If you make a move, there would be

some certain wave, that's for sure.

I experienced in a good way and bad

way at the same time, but...

It's better than being silent.