Hop Film Event: Black Box Diaries (with filmmaker Ito Shiori in person)

Unfolding like a thriller, journalist Shiori Ito's documentary charts her investigation into her own sexual assault and the landmark case against the high-profile offender.

10/6/2025
7:00 pm - 8:45 pm
Location
Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center
Sponsored by
Hopkins Center for the Arts
Audience
Public
More information
Hopkins Center for the Arts
603 646 2422

Unfolding like a thriller, journalist Shiori Ito's documentary charts her investigation into her own sexual assault and the landmark case against the high-profile offender.

When 28-year-old aspiring journalist Shiori Ito goes public in May 2017 with her rape allegation against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's closest journalist and biographer, she feels she has no other choice in order to change Japan's antiquated sexual assault laws. Her press conference shocks the public in a society where speaking up on such matters is considered shameful. Within days, Shiori is swept into the center of Japanese politics鈥攖he right wing views her as a threat to bring down the Abe government and the left hails her a hero for the same reason. Death threats, cyberbullying and hate mail take Shiori into a downward spiral. When she files a civil case, the accused wages all-out war against her. Determined not to set a bad example for other victims, Shiori pushes forward with her case and resolves to publish a book about her experience.

Unfolding like a thriller and combining secret investigative recordings, v茅rit茅 shooting and emotional first-person video, Shiori's quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country's desperately outdated judicial and societal systems. Her tumultuous, heart-wrenching and ultimately triumphant story reveals the personal toll of a society's web of politics, media and technology on the humanity of its individuals. Content Warning: This film contains accounts of sexual violence. We encourage viewers to practice self care and take breaks from the film as needed.

Discussion follows with filmmaker Shiori Ito, Bailey Ray, the WISE Campus Advocate for 大香蕉视频 and Professor Anaiis Cisco

Programmed in collaboration with the Department of Asian Societies, Culture & Languages, the Dickey Center for International Understanding, WISE and the Sexual Assault Peer Advisors (SAPA)

This event is free and unticketed.

Location
Loew Auditorium, Black Family Visual Arts Center
Sponsored by
Hopkins Center for the Arts
Audience
Public
More information
Hopkins Center for the Arts
603 646 2422