1. Overview
Noriyuki Yamaguchi, born in 1966, is a former Japanese journalist and biographer known for his close ties to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His career spanned from photojournalism at Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS) to serving as a Washington bureau chief before becoming self-employed. Yamaguchi gained significant public attention and became a central figure in Japan's Me Too movement after being accused of sexual assault by journalist Shiori Itō in 2015. Despite prosecutors initially declining to indict him, Itō pursued civil action, which ultimately led to a landmark ruling finding Yamaguchi liable for damages. This case brought widespread international attention to sexual assault and the challenges faced by victims in Japan. Beyond this pivotal case, Yamaguchi has been involved in several other legal disputes, including defamation lawsuits against public figures and controversies surrounding his claims regarding Shinzo Abe's assassination and historical events.
2. Early Life and Career
Noriyuki Yamaguchi's early life and professional trajectory laid the groundwork for his later career as a journalist and biographer, marked by his assignments at Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS) and subsequent independent activities.
2.1. Birth and Education
Noriyuki Yamaguchi was born on May 4, 1966, in Tokyo, Japan. He attended Tsukuba University Affiliated Komaba Junior/Senior High School before enrolling in the Faculty of Economics at Keio University, from which he graduated in 1990.
2.2. Early Journalism Career
In 1990, Yamaguchi joined Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS), where he was assigned to the news department as a photojournalist. His early career at TBS included significant overseas assignments, during which he served in bureaus in London, England; a temporary bureau in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Washington, D.C., United States. Domestically, he also worked in the social affairs department and the political affairs department. He later served as a producer for the program Hodo Tokushu. From 2013, he held the position of Washington bureau chief for TBS.
2.3. Post-TBS Activities
On April 23, 2015, Yamaguchi was relieved of his duties as Washington bureau chief and transferred from the news bureau to the sales bureau within TBS. He ultimately left TBS Television on May 30, 2016. Following his departure from TBS, he transitioned to working as a journalist and concurrently became a visiting fellow at the East-West Center, an American think tank. According to his public statements, he is now self-employed.
In addition to his journalism, Yamaguchi became involved with political and corporate entities. On January 15, 2016, he assumed the role of representative for the political group "Japan Singularity Party." In March 2016, he co-established the "Japan Singularity Foundation" as its representative director, alongside Motoaki Saito. He also served as an advisor to PEZY Computing, a supercomputer development company, and from November 2016 to May 2017, he was an advisor to a subsidiary of the advertising agency NKB.
3. Relationship with Shinzo Abe
Noriyuki Yamaguchi maintained a notably close relationship with former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, serving as his biographer and drawing scrutiny for his conduct following Abe's assassination.
3.1. Biographer Activities
Yamaguchi was known as a personal biographer for Shinzo Abe. Magazines such as Weekly Shincho in its May 18, 2017 issue, stated that Yamaguchi was "the journalist closest to Prime Minister Abe." Monthly Hanada's February 2017 issue also referred to Yamaguchi and Rui Abiru as "the two political journalists who know Prime Minister Abe best." Yamaguchi himself described his work as having "covered the core of the administration more than anyone." It was reported that Abe trusted Yamaguchi enough to read him freshly drafted speech manuscripts, and in 2007, Yamaguchi, then a political reporter for TBS, notably scooped the news of Abe's resignation after interviewing Abe himself, Foreign Minister Taro Aso, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano. Furthermore, Yamaguchi's older sister was reportedly classmates with Akie Abe at Seishin Joshi Gakuin Junior High, Senior High, and Vocational School.
During Abe's tenure as prime minister, Yamaguchi published two books about him: Dark Fight (暗闘Japanese, Antō) and Prime Minister (総理Japanese, Sōri).
3.2. Controversies Related to Abe's Assassination
Yamaguchi's actions following the assassination of Shinzo Abe on July 8, 2022, drew considerable controversy, particularly his early announcement of Abe's death and his subsequent promotion of a "multiple perpetrator theory."
At 3:20 PM JST on July 8, 2022, Akie Abe, Shinzo Abe's wife, arrived at Kyoto Station after receiving news of the shooting. At 3:36 PM, Yamaguchi posted on his Facebook account a photo of himself with Abe and Tarō Asō, stating, "I have received information from a reliable source that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has passed away despite life-saving measures. This is regrettable and sad." Within about an hour, this post was shared 450 times. At 4:40 PM, businessman Hiroyuki Nishimura (known as Hiroyuki) posted a screenshot of Yamaguchi's message on Twitter, and his tweet rapidly spread, garnering over 10,000 retweets. Official confirmation of Abe's death by doctors came at 5:03 PM, with major media outlets reporting the news between 5:48 PM and 5:49 PM.
Yamaguchi faced criticism for his "flying post," but at 7:03 PM on the same day, he updated his Facebook, asserting, "I confirmed the information through multiple reliable channels before making it public, and I do not believe there was any issue regarding consideration for the family or information literacy." However, he later reversed his stance, apologizing on Facebook on July 11, stating, "I neglected to accurately confirm the information and lacked composure in my dissemination."
Yamaguchi also promoted a "multiple perpetrator theory" regarding Abe's assassination. On August 6, 2022, he stated on the Cultural Figures Broadcasting Station's YouTube channel that "a sniper with malicious intent fired a gallium bullet, severely damaging Abe's heart and killing him instantly, then kept him alive for a long time with blood transfusions to erase the evidence." This statement was widely disseminated by some users. Starting with the July 2023 issue of Monthly Hanada, Yamaguchi began a series of articles advocating for the multiple perpetrator theory. On July 3, 2023, the Sekai Nippo newspaper also featured Yamaguchi's theories, stating, "Since the incident, there have been constant doubts about a lone perpetrator. While social media contains a mix of unsubstantiated claims, there are too many suspicious points to dismiss as merely conspiracy theories."
Yamaguchi's articles in Monthly Hanada include:
- July 2023 issue: "Former Prime Minister Abe Assassination: 'Suspicious Nara Prefectural Police'"
- September 2023 issue: "Irresponsible Media Calling it 'Conspiracy Theory'"
- November 2023 issue: "'Single Perpetrator Theory' Mistrust Swirling Even Within the Administration"
- January 2024 issue: "Explanations for Gunshot Wounds Change Repeatedly! Absolute Contradiction in Nara Prefectural Police Announcement"
- February 2024 issue: "'Single Perpetrator' and Anti-Trump Forces"
4. Major Controversies and Legal Disputes
Noriyuki Yamaguchi has been embroiled in several high-profile social controversies and legal challenges, most notably the sexual assault allegation by Shiori Itō that catalyzed Japan's #MeToo movement.
4.1. Sexual Assault Allegation and Litigation (Shiori Itō Case)
The case involving Shiori Itō became a landmark for the #MeToo movement in Japan, highlighting significant issues within the country's legal system and societal attitudes towards sexual assault.
4.1.1. Background and Initial Investigation
On April 3, 2015, while on a temporary return to Japan, Yamaguchi, then a political reporter and Washington bureau chief for TBS, had dinner with Shiori Itō in Tokyo. Later that night and into the early morning of April 4, Yamaguchi was accused of committing a quasi-rape against Itō at a hotel. Itō reported the incident to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. She consulted with the Harajuku Police Station on April 9 and formally filed a police report on April 30.
On July 22, 2016, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict Yamaguchi, citing insufficient evidence. This decision was further reviewed by the Tokyo Sixth Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution, composed of citizens, which on September 21, 2017 (announced on September 22), also concluded that there was "no common law basis to overturn" the prosecutors' decision. Notably, Itaru Nakamura, who was acting chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Investigative Division at the time and reportedly a close confidant of both Prime Minister Abe and Yamaguchi, admitted in the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho to having halted the probe and arrest warrant for Yamaguchi.
4.1.2. Civil Lawsuit and Appeals
Following the prosecutorial decision, Shiori Itō initiated a civil lawsuit against Yamaguchi. On September 28, 2017, she filed a complaint seeking damages of 11.00 M JPY for the emotional distress caused by the non-consensual sexual act. Shortly after, on October 18, Itō published her memoir, Black Box, detailing the alleged incident and her subsequent experiences. She held a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on October 24, where she advocated for improvements to the relief system for sexual assault victims. In response, Yamaguchi published his own account, "To Shiori Ito, who sued me," in the October 26 issue of Monthly Hanada, in which he entirely denied Itō's claims.
In February 2019, Yamaguchi filed a countersuit against Itō, seeking 130.00 M JPY in compensation and a public apology. He claimed that Itō's statements at her press conference and her book had damaged his social credibility. The court concurrently heard both Itō's original lawsuit and Yamaguchi's countersuit.
On December 18, 2019, the Tokyo District Court, presided over by Judge Akihiko Suzuki, ruled in favor of Itō, finding that Yamaguchi had engaged in non-consensual sexual activity. The court ordered Yamaguchi to pay Itō 3.30 M JPY in damages, while dismissing Yamaguchi's counter-claims. Yamaguchi publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the ruling, announcing his intention to appeal both the original lawsuit and his countersuit. He filed his appeal with the Tokyo High Court on January 6, 2020.
On January 25, 2022, the Tokyo High Court, presided over by Judge Takao Nakayama, upheld the lower court's finding that Yamaguchi had engaged in sexual intercourse without Itō's consent. The High Court ordered Yamaguchi to pay Itō approximately 3.32 M JPY, which included about 20.00 K JPY for medical expenses. However, the High Court also partially recognized Yamaguchi's claim that Itō had defamed him in her book and at press conferences, particularly regarding her assertion of being given a "date rape drug" without sufficient evidence. Consequently, the court ordered Itō to pay Yamaguchi 550.00 K JPY in damages. Both Yamaguchi and Itō filed appeals against this High Court ruling with the Supreme Court.
On July 8, 2022, the Supreme Court, presided over by Judge Atsushi Yamaguchi, rejected Yamaguchi's appeal, thereby affirming the High Court's decision that he had engaged in sexual intercourse without consent and ordering him to pay approximately 3.32 M JPY in damages. The Supreme Court also upheld the High Court's finding that Itō's claim of being drugged lacked definitive evidence and was not factual, thus confirming the order for Itō to pay Yamaguchi 550.00 K JPY. This final ruling underscored the challenges faced by sexual assault victims in Japan seeking justice and garnered significant international attention due to the high profile of the case and the societal hurdles Itō had to overcome by speaking out.
Itō's memoir, Black Box, was published in both Japanese and English. Her film adaptation, Black Box Diaries, received critical acclaim, being named one of the top 5 documentary films of 2024 by the National Board of Review and nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
4.1.3. Criminal Complaint and Outcome (Yamaguchi vs. Itō)
In June 2019, Noriyuki Yamaguchi filed a criminal complaint against Shiori Itō, accusing her of false accusation and defamation. He alleged that Itō had fabricated a false crime report to the police and courts and repeatedly disseminated "lies, fabrications, and groundless assumptions," including claims of being drugged, which he asserted were never argued in court, thereby significantly damaging his reputation worldwide.
The police formally accepted Yamaguchi's complaint in July 2019, and Itō was referred to prosecutors on September 28, 2020, on suspicion of these charges. However, on December 25, 2020, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict Itō, dismissing Yamaguchi's complaint. In an article for Hanada Plus on January 24, 2022, Yamaguchi continued to deny any criminal act, suggesting that even if Itō genuinely did not remember the events, it was due to "alcoholic amnesia" from excessive self-consumption, not a crime. He argued that since "there was no criminal act," the police, prosecutors, and the Prosecution Inquest Committee all rejected Itō's claims.
4.2. Disputes with Other Individuals
Noriyuki Yamaguchi has initiated several defamation lawsuits against other public figures, often related to public commentary on his controversies.
4.2.1. Dispute with Yoshinori Kobayashi
On January 24, 2019, Yamaguchi filed a civil lawsuit against cartoonist Yoshinori Kobayashi. Yamaguchi asserted that Kobayashi's manga Gomanism Declaration, published in the August 2017 issue of SAPIO magazine, disseminated "false information completely different from the facts" and repeatedly "slandered and defamed" Yamaguchi by "baselessly labeling him a criminal," which he argued constituted defamation and a violation of his human rights. Kobayashi, in response to the lawsuit, stated on his blog that he would rely on his lawyers from Shogakukan and would continue to act as an "expresser" and exercise his freedom of speech and expression to "fight against power" for the sake of the "public."
On October 19, 2023, the Tokyo District Court, presided over by Judge Kunihiko Shimazaki, found that some of the expressions in Kobayashi's work constituted "illegal infringement of honor and portrait rights." The court ordered Kobayashi to pay a total of 1.32 M JPY in damages. Judge Shimazaki specifically noted that depicting Yamaguchi naked was an "excessively derisive expression" and that there was "little necessity to repeat such depictions."
4.2.2. Dispute with Yoshio Arita
Yamaguchi also filed a defamation lawsuit against Yoshio Arita, a former House of Councillors member and journalist. Arita had posted tweets between March 2017 and December 2019, criticizing Yamaguchi over the sexual assault allegations by Shiori Itō. These tweets included statements such as "the most contemptible and shameful monstrous act imaginable for a human being" and implied that Yamaguchi had used drugs on Itō after reading her book. Yamaguchi countered by filing a lawsuit in May 2021, arguing that it was unacceptable for a member of parliament to openly defame a private citizen. On January 24, 2023, the Tokyo District Court partially sided with Yamaguchi, ordering Arita to pay 350.00 K JPY.
4.2.3. Dispute with Akiko Oishi
In 2019, after Yamaguchi filed a countersuit against Itō for 130.00 M JPY, alleging defamation by Itō, Akiko Oishi, a member of the House of Representatives from the Reiwa Shinsengumi party, tweeted critical remarks, including calling Yamaguchi a "piece of crap." Yamaguchi subsequently filed a lawsuit against Oishi, seeking 8.80 M JPY in damages. Oishi's tweets included assertions that Yamaguchi had committed "planned rape" against Itō and that he "launched a SLAPP suit exceeding 100 million yen against Itō" and was "an arrogant piece of crap trying to subjugate people with violence."
On July 18, 2023, the Tokyo District Court, presided over by Judge Kensuke Aratani, determined that the "important parts" of Oishi's tweets were "recognized as true." While acknowledging the public interest in Oishi's comments regarding the countersuit, the court found the expression "piece of crap" to be a "severe insult" and ruled it constituted defamation. The court ordered Oishi to pay Yamaguchi 220.00 K JPY and to delete parts of her tweets. However, the court denied the illegality of Oishi's claims such as "planned rape," stating there was "reasonable cause to believe them true."
On March 13, 2024, the Tokyo High Court, presided over by Judge Maki Aizawa, overturned the lower court's decision, ruling that the expression "piece of crap" "does not immediately constitute a personal attack and cannot be deemed to have deviated from the realm of opinion or commentary." The High Court consequently dismissed Yamaguchi's entire claim.
4.3. Controversies Regarding "Comfort Women" from the Vietnam War
During his tenure as Washington bureau chief, Noriyuki Yamaguchi published a controversial article in Shūkan Bunshun (April 2, 2015 issue) regarding the alleged involvement of the Korean military in operating "comfort stations" during the Vietnam War. Citing public documents from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the United States, Yamaguchi claimed that "Turkish baths" were established in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) for the exclusive use of Korean soldiers, where Vietnamese women were forced into prostitution.
This article generated significant debate. The progressive Korean daily newspaper The Hankyoreh (English online edition) commented that while it would likely be uncomfortable for the then-President Park Geun-hye to investigate the matter, "it would be difficult to refute the claims" of the Bunshun article. The newspaper further suggested that "it is time for the South Korean government to cooperate with Vietnamese authorities to find the truth" regarding not only massacres of civilians during the Vietnam War but also whether the Korean military was involved in the operation and management of comfort stations. In contrast, Shukan Shincho strongly argued that Yamaguchi's article was a "fabrication," leading to an exchange of rebuttals between the two weekly magazines.
5. Works
Noriyuki Yamaguchi is the author of several books, primarily focusing on political figures and international relations.
- Dark Fight (暗闘Japanese, Antō) - Published January 27, 2017, by Gentosha. This book details behind-the-scenes political dynamics.
- Prime Minister (総理Japanese, Sōri) - Published June 9, 2016, by Gentosha. This work focuses on former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
- America Invaded by China (中国に侵略されたアメリカJapanese, Chūgoku ni Shinryaku Sareta Amerika) - Published July 30, 2021, by WAC. This book explores geopolitical issues concerning the United States and China.
6. Media Appearances
Noriyuki Yamaguchi has made numerous appearances on television and radio programs throughout his career, both during and after his time at TBS Television.
| Type | Program Name (Japanese/English) | Network | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| TV (During TBS) | Hirunobi! (ひるおび!Japanese) | TBS Television | |
| Asa Chan! (あさチャン!Japanese) | TBS Television | ||
| Ippuku! (いっぷく!Japanese) | TBS Television | ||
| TV (Post-TBS) | Oshiete! News Live Seigi no Mikata (教えて!ニュースライブ 正義のミカタJapanese) | Asahi Broadcasting | |
| Morning Show (モーニングショーJapanese) | TV Asahi | ||
| Super J Channel (スーパーJチャンネルJapanese) | TV Asahi | ||
| Beat Takeshi's TV Tackle (ビートたけしのTVタックルJapanese) | TV Asahi | November 20 & 27, 2016 | |
| Mr. Sunday (Mr.サンデーJapanese) | Fuji TV, Kansai TV | ||
| News Zap (ニュースザップJapanese) | BS Sky Perfect! | August 2 & November 22, 2016 | |
| Shinso Fukairi! Toranomon News (真相深入り!虎ノ門ニュースJapanese) | DHC Theater | October 18, 2016 & January 31, 2017 | |
| Mino Monta no Yoru Buzz! (みのもんたのよるバズ!Japanese) | AbemaTV (Internet) | ||
| Radio (During TBS) | Ogigami Chiki Session-22 (荻上チキ・Session-22Japanese) | TBS Radio | November 4, 2014 |
| Radio (Post-TBS) | The Voice Sokomade Iuka! (ザ・ボイス そこまで言うか!Japanese) | Nippon Broadcasting | July 12, August 3, September 14, October 20, October 26, 2016 & January 25, 2017 |
7. Portrayal in Media
Noriyuki Yamaguchi and the events surrounding him have been depicted or alluded to in other media, reflecting their impact on public discourse. In the Netflix original drama The Journalist, starring Ryōko Yonekura, the character Shinjiro Toyoda, portrayed by Yūsuke Santamaria, who avoids arrest despite an arrest warrant from the court, is partially modeled after Yamaguchi. A film critic on TBS Radio's Tamamusubi program referred to the character Shinjiro Toyoda as "Noriyukying it," further linking the fictional portrayal to Yamaguchi.