The Harvard Crimson recently featured an article on the screening and discussion of Black Box Diaries (2024), the Oscar-nominated documentary memoir by journalist and filmmaker Shiori Itō, held at Harvard University on Wednesday, October 15. The event drew one of the largest audiences in the history of the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and included a post-screening conversation with Itō, moderated by Professor Karen Thornber (Harvard University) and Professor Akiko Takeyama (University of Kansas).

The film chronicled Itō's ongoing investigation and pursuit of justice following the sexual violence she endured as a young journalist at the hands of a senior figure in Japanese media. Her unwavering resolve to challenge Japan's patriarchal judicial, political, and media systems has made her case a landmark in the legal and cultural recognition of gender-based violence in Japan. Coordinated by Professor Thornber in collaboration with the Reischauer Institute, the Weatherhead Center’s Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, and the Committee on Degrees in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, the event was part of Itō’s broader U.S. university tour and highlighted the power of film and public dialogue to address issues of gender, justice, and systemic inequality.

The full Crimson article can be found here.