Aichi exhibition closed over Korean 'comfort woman' statue reopens

https://twitter.com/yamatokairagi/status/1182141079987965953/photo/1

This is one of other exhibits reminding visitors of haircurling brutal crimes in 1988 , where a high school girl was kidnapped, confined, raped, assaulted for a month and put into a drum can with concrete、coagulated,

and dumped into Tokyo Bay.

And promoters concerned, a director Tsuda who's not even an artist but a mere journalist are demanding bloody-taxpayer's public funding as these are ART for the sake of FREEDOM of EXPRESSION

FYI, Ohmura, a govenor of Aichi Prefecture has just started excusing himself, saying he didn't know nor informed in advance about what the contents or the messages of those problematic exhibits hijacking traditional Int'l art museum exhibition, were meant to portray under the Freedom of ExPRESSSSIIIOOONN.

to a people that have embraced peaceful coexistence with there neighbours.

Sounds like you have Japan confused with Germany. This is like two kids in the back seat with the bad one hitting the other. When told to stop and apologize, the bad kid stops, lies about what happened and says sorry in the most unsorry tone possible. Then proceeds to glare and make rude gestures. Its not really convincing that the bad kid is not going to start again.

Germany on the other hand is still saying sorry to this day and its completely sincere.

Until Japan enmasse stops downplaying, obfuscating and denying the sex slave issue and other issues relating to the war, Japan is going have neighbors hostile to her, because Japan is trolling the world on this.

Zichi, I have little or no problem with the exhibit itself, the subject matter, politically needs to be addressed smartly.

In other words a more formal approach beyond the world of politics. Addressing historic grievances, needs a royal commission that can rise above politics. Well that is my take on the matter.

Whose firing and testing the missiles, who is developing the next generation of nuclear warheads?,

In comparison Japan's SDF have nothing more than peashooters.

Here we have a exhibit that has been designed to humiliate, hiding under cover of the so called right to freedom of speech/expression. Whilst President Moon Jae-in hugs a murderous dictator.

The only way this sorry debacle, art,? pull the other one, it plays the banjo, is through education not silly girls sitting in a chair masquerading as art!

The reality its another shameless attempt to blithely, cynically force pugnacious derogatory contempt to a people that have embraced peaceful coexistence with there neighbours.

I do not deny that there are hard boiled right wingers in Abe sans cabinet that are given an undue media platform. However that harpy in a chair is the essence of political posturing, no more no less. Sorry to be so blunt.

It's not even a 'finished' historical event, there are two Koreas for a reason.

I’m sorry, what does this have anything to do with Japan? Oh that’s right, every single problem in Korea are all Japan’s faults, no questions asked.

Freedom of whatever contradicts each other. What could possibly judge freedom of expression weighs more than freedom of opinion/thought which criticize it on the occasion like this?

Well. there's no point saying this where all those not allowed.

but just one piece of info. Those american posters who love and be proud of your country should do take a look at the exhibit called Grave of Stupid Japanese which stands on the Stars and Stripes laid out, and what this artist meant by it.

Proof that Japan is a free, very tolerant and democratic nation. They allow even controversial exhibitions that many disagree with. Try holding such controversial exhibitions in neighboring nations. Impossible.

You make it sound like allowing a controversial exhibit is as though Japan has gone above and beyond expectations of free speech.

This is just a very basic requirement of free speech. The fact that you think that this is in someway impressive shows that there concept of free speech is just skin deep in Japan.

zichi I am the last person to ask about what constitutes as art. My humble opinion is this exhibit is more a political statement, that doesn't mean it should be withdrawn though

A girl seated in a chair, heck that's 'art' well fair enough but why the tax payer subsidy?

Good! Let people go if they choose to learn a little bit, or at least see a different perspective on history and judge for themselves. Let the rest go back to the holes in the sand or back up others' backsides and hide from the truth (some posters on here included).

Ganbare Japan: "Proof that Japan is a free, very tolerant and democratic nation."

And yet, you wanted it shut down. What does that say about you?

Proof that Japan is a free, very tolerant and democratic nation. They allow even controversial exhibitions that many disagree with. Try holding such controversial exhibitions in neighboring nations. Impossible.

Good for Japan.

This is a disgrace of those who died for the country. Please learn how second sons decided to fly to enemy ships with one-way fuel.

The disgrace was the Admirals who thought it was acceptable to strong-arm young men into becoming suicide bombers into carrying on an absurd war that they could never win. The kamikaze pilots were nothing more than the victims of war criminals.

3)   The photo of the current royal family, but their figures are perished and only their shadows remains.

Artist who made this was initially making photos of Showa emperor with his figure gone by modifying it. But this time, the target becomes entire family.

I found this very dangerous sending a wrong message such as assassination threat.

I haven't seen the picture, and am not entirely sure what you mean, but I find it hard to extrapolate from the description that they would become an assassination target. This may well be a political comment on the role of the royal family in Japanese life.

No one bans these exhibits, but only they thinks this is not appropriate to do this with tax payers money.

That is clearly untrue - people specifically objected to the statue of the comfort woman - just as they do wherever comfort women are memorialized.

Art?

don't you think also the other people like Hachikou should be represented in mainstream media? I start to doubt about what they tell us

I haven't seen the exhibits that Hachikou is referring to or who the artists in question are and where these exhibits are or were on display, or any of the context. So I really don't feel that it is particularly relevant to this discussion. If there were a clear case of double standards being exercised, that might be relevant, but I am not sure that there is enough evidence from what Hachikou said to conclude that.

sorry ment art for art's sake....

A political statement pure and simple, heck, art sake arts sake it still an abomination.

oldman, I think you mean the Aichi Governor. The Nagoya Mayor is a Nipponkaigi right wing loon.

From the story:

"It is very regrettable that displays of some artists' works are cancelled. I want to complete this Aichi Triennale, one of the biggest art festivals in Japan, in an amicable way," Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura said late Monday.

@Wallace: who are the right wingers? Also the ones who simply feel uncomfortable about "the sick Japan" piece of art? It was part of the same exhibit. How can you be really sure about what media tell us? Was the statue really the main problem? Sorry, again, I don't know what to believe anymore. I keep my doubts, how I keep my doubts about so many other facts described in mass media. Despite the sad situation of freedom of speech in Western democracies in this age, I feel I can be relatively free at least if I can keep my doubts.

Freedom of expression is such beautiful thing to behold. Especially when it irks the right wingers. More,more, more of the same!!!

@Chip Star: such a pity media often change reality all the time. You can never know the real reasons for something. The only thing I noticed is that these articles NEVER speak about the other controversial pieces of art, despite I saw TONS of Japanese on Twitter protesting about those, and saying that media were using the statue like an excuse to make the international audience think the main problem was that. So I don't know what to believe anymore, sorry.

@Chip Star: but don't you think also the other people like Hachikou should be represented in mainstream media? I start to doubt about what they tell us.

Alex: The exhibitbeas shut down over threats related to the comfort women display. This article is about that. I'm sorry I can't change reality to make people happy.

@Chip Star: all those "pieces of arts" are part of the same exhibit. I found annoying how mainstream media speak only about the comfort women statue, when I saw most Japanese people on Twitter being angry for the other pieces of arts. And I saw this stuff because there was an Italian artist who supported on Twitter this exhibition, and I was sorry for her attitude. Many Japanese were trying to explain their reasons to her in English, but she ignored every explaination related to those controversial piece of arts whose Hachikou spoke, by replying only with the hashtag "miserable Japanese men". She is a feminist activist but I found her attitude very wrong and closed to any exchange of opinions.

Again,.. why is there only comfort woman photo up there?

Because the article is about this exhibit, not the other ones you mentioned.

As always, such examples refute the notion that all Japanese are eager to whitewash and hide their history. Nothing could be further from the truth

Nobody has ever claimed that all Jaoanese are eager to whitewash and hide their history. You're living up to your handle and arguing with yourself again.

Good for the mayor and the exhibition.

@old man - the same mayor who said just recently?

"Kawamura previously incited controversy when he demanded the exhibition be shut, arguing the statue should not be displayed at a publicly funded event as its presence could give the wrong impression that Japan accepted South Korea's claim the women were forcibly taken by the Japanese military."

As always, such examples refute the notion that all Japanese are eager to whitewash and hide their history. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It's been pointed out before and more than once, that nobody claims this except yourself. You claim it so you can then refute it.

@Scrote: the fact is that in our modern age, it's not clear what freedom of speech is anymore. If you apply some standards that you see in other situations, the names "Japan is sick" or " Grave of stupid Japanese" could sound like hate speech against Japanese people. You could change that perception with small details, for example including words like "Imperial Japan is sick" or "Grave of Japanese soldiers killed by stupid Japanese Imperial regime indoctrination". When something can be called hate speech and when it's freedom of speech? There are too many double standards today, that makes you ask if there is a part of people who are simply "more free" than others. Also in the West, I see this double standard all the time between people who support mass immigration and people who are against it, without being racist only for this opinion, based on facts that have nothing to do with "race".

hachikou: The exhibition is about freedom of expression. You may not like the contents, but it's important that they can be displayed without giving in to threats from fascists.

As for the use of taxes: there are plenty of things I don't like my taxes being spent on (e.g. "commercial" whaling). Perhaps you should vote for a party that will spend taxes in the way you want?

Again,.. why is there only comfort woman photo up there?

So that readers get impression that that is what this is all about?

IT IS NOT.

These are problematic exhibits people are talking about.

I wanted to write URL as reference for viewers, but if I do, JapanToday deletes my post, so I will leave only keywords.

1)  The movie of burning Showa emperor and scull photos with gas burner and stepping on its ash.

2)   A strange cave looking object titled “Grave of Stupid Japanese” with messages like “Japan is sick” and Japanese flag with Kamikaze, Tokkoutai,特攻隊,messages on top.

This is a disgrace of those who died for the country. Please learn how second sons decided to fly to enemy ships with one-way fuel.

3)   The photo of the current royal family, but their figures are perished and only their shadows remains.

Artist who made this was initially making photos of Showa emperor with his figure gone by modifying it. But this time, the target becomes entire family.

I found this very dangerous sending a wrong message such as assassination threat.

The government decided not to give 70 million yen funding.

Now left wing gets angry and claims that this is the censorship like what Nazi regime did back then.

I think this is crazy. No one bans these exhibits, but only they thinks this is not appropriate to do this with tax payers money.

Good for the mayor and the exhibition.

As always, such examples refute the notion that all Japanese are eager to whitewash and hide their history. Nothing could be further from the truth.