Aichi Triennale shuts down exhibition after threats over 'comfort women' statue

The Aichi Triennale in Japan abruptly ended its exhibition, After ‘Freedom of Expression?’, just three days post-launch at the Aichi Prefecture Museum of Art in Nagoya, due to safety issues stemming from threats related to a sculpture of a 'comfort woman'. This artwork, titled Statue of a Girl of Peace, was crafted by Korean artists Kim Seo-kyung and Kim Eun-sung, highlighting the plight of Korean women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. Nagoya's mayor, Takashi Kawamura, insisted on the exhibition's closure, arguing it disrespected Japanese sentiments. Curators labeled this incident as the most notable case of censorship in post-war Japan. On August 8, 2019, the Gwangju Biennale Foundation condemned the move as a violation of free expression and called for the exhibition's return. Tensions between Japan and South Korea intensified, with South Korea dismantling an $8.8 million foundation for victims on July 5, 2019, amid reconciliation disputes. The original statue was unveiled in 2011 during a demonstration in Seoul, with various replicas displayed globally, including a miniature that was destroyed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.