A “comfort woman” statue displayed at the 2019 Aichi Triennale set to open Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Aug. 1, 2019. (image: artist Kim Un-seong)
SEOUL, June 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid a series of assaults from conservative extremists in Japan surrounding the case of sex slaves committed by the Japanese military, like-minded Japanese citizens are gathering to hold exhibitions of the Statue of Peace.
The Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Inconvenient Exhibition of Expression, consisting of civic group activists in Japan, announced that the next exhibition will take place at the Session House Garden located in Shinjuku, Tokyo from June 25 until July 4.
Alongside with the Statue of Peace, symbolizing the Japanese sex slave victims, ‘Holding Perspective’, an artwork that angered Japanese extremists during the Aichi Triennale 2019, as well as photographs of the sex slave victims from photographer Ahn Se-hong will appear at the exhibition.
‘Holding Perspective’ depicts a silk screen carrying the image of former Japanese emperor Hirohito set on fire.
The Statue of Peace also appeared at the ‘After Freedom of Expression’ exhibition during the Aichi Triennale 2019, which caused a major backlash from Japan’s extreme right, forcing the statue to be removed from the exhibition after just four days.
The statue returned to the exhibition following protests and legal actions by the host organization and artists, but the Triennale soon ended, limiting the chance of exposure.
The upcoming exhibition is seen as a form of resistance against the reality that threatens upon freedom of expression, and an attempt to fight Japanese extremists and their efforts to distort history.
The Aichi Association for Upholding ‘After Freedom of Expression’ Exhibition, a civic group in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, also plans to showcase the Statue of Peace at Nagoya from July 6 until 11, joining a nationwide effort to introduce the statue.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
