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The Journalist
Movie

The Journalist

2019 • Unknown

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

It is the job of the press to cover corporate crime, government plots and society. It is in this context that young female reporter on the beat Erika rolls up her sleeves and goes to work regarding what seems to be a government cover up. She is dealing with a government bureaucrat called Sugihara. It seems as if a clash is inevitable.

Overall Series Review

The Journalist (Shinbun Kisha) is a political thriller focused on the dark side of Japanese government and media manipulation. The plot follows Erika Yoshioka, a dedicated journalist, as she works to expose a major cover-up involving a government plan for a new university. She clashes with Takumi Sugihara, an earnest government bureaucrat whose job is to keep a lid on scandals and control the press. The film's primary narrative drive is a classic David vs. Goliath story: a righteous, truth-seeking reporter against a corrupt and self-serving government system. It is a procedural drama that explores the profound moral conflict faced by individuals on both sides of the issue. The film is a critique of institutional dishonesty and the culture of forced responsibility within Japanese politics, emphasizing the importance of a free and fearless press. Its themes are universal, revolving around professional ethics and the struggle for objective truth against a powerful, amoral power structure. The story also touches on the explicit and implicit sexism in Japanese society through the female protagonist’s experience, as well as the cover-up of a sexual assault case, framing these issues as part of the broader system of corruption.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The narrative conflict is entirely centered on the moral difference between honest people and corrupt politicians/bureaucrats, not on immutable characteristics or identity hierarchy. The characters are East Asian, and the plot is a meritocratic pursuit of journalistic truth, with character judgment based on a universal sense of right and wrong, not collective group identity.

Oikophobia3/10

The hostility is not directed at Japanese culture, ancestors, or fundamental civilizational values, but specifically at a corrupt contemporary political administration and its intelligence apparatus (CIRO). The film champions core civic institutions like the free press and government transparency, depicting them as forces that should act as shields against bureaucratic chaos and crime.

Feminism5/10

The female lead is a brave, capable, and highly driven journalist who is the hero of the story, succeeding in a male-dominated field. The film explicitly criticizes the 'implicit and explicit sexism' that marks Japanese society, and mentions a government effort to discredit a female victim of a scandal, scoring it higher than a low-level critique. However, the male lead is a sympathetic figure who is driven partly by the desire to provide for his family, including a baby on the way, which counters the anti-natalism/male-emasculation trope.

LGBTQ+1/10

The plot is a political thriller focused on government corruption. There is no evidence in the core narrative or surrounding commentary that the story features or lectures on alternative sexualities, gender ideology, or the deconstruction of the nuclear family. The structure remains normative.

Anti-Theism1/10

The film does not contain any religious themes. The moral conflict is framed as a struggle for 'truth' and 'justice' against a government's lies and manipulation, which implicitly acknowledges an objective moral standard rather than embracing moral relativism or being hostile toward any specific faith.