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ESJF Statement: “After ‘Lack of Freedom of Expression?’” Shut Down to Suppress Freedom of Expression

8/9/2019

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​Education for Social Justice Foundation (ESJF) denounces the ironic and uncivil decision announced on August 3 to shut down the exhibit, “After ‘Lack of Freedom of Expression?’, 「表現の不自由展・その後」.” We urge the exhibit to reopen immediately.

Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura who demanded the shutdown argued that “the exhibition could give the wrong impression that Japan accepts a South Korean claim that comfort women [Japanese military sex slaves] were forcibly taken by the Japanese military...”[1] One of the pieces on the display was "Peace Girl Statue," which symbolizes a  victim of Japanese military sexual slavery. The organizers of the Aichi Triennale 2019, “Taming Y/Our Passion” 「情の時代」, decided to shut down the exhibit instead of running it until October 14. The exhibit space is now covered up by blank barricades depriving people of over 20 art pieces at the exhibit, “After ‘Lack of Freedom of Expression?’”

Shutting down an exhibit, especially without consulting the artists, is a grave suppression of freedom of expression and political violence. One of the pieces on the display was done by a minor back in December 2016.

In April 2017, 11th grader Yun-soo Jo experienced injustice when the city funding to the Chiba Korean Elementary and Middle School was cut because she and her friend presented art pieces advocating justice for Japanese military sex slaves, which the Chiba mayor found problematic. As a result, he cut funding to the school as an unfair punitive measure. At the 2019 Aichi Triennale, she is experiencing yet another injustice associated with freedom of expression, which is the essence of democracy.

In addition to protecting the freedom of expression of the people, it is the humble duty of democratic society to provide a just and safe environment for the young generation, but the organizers of the Aichi Triennale 2019 have done completely the opposite. Shutting down freedom of expression is wrong. Shutting down freedom of minors’ expression is even more wrong and shameful.

The Japanese Centre of PEN International, a writers’ organization in Japan, released the following statement on August 3: “Eliminating the space for communication between creator and viewer robs art of its meaning and quashes the spirit of freedom, which is the driving force of society.”[1]

The Japan Art Association has protested against the shutdown of the exhibition by stating "Succumbing to pressure from the government and threatening is a serious infringement on freedom of expression."[2]

As Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura said, “highly likely, this decision violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression."[3]

To learn more about Yun-soo Jo’s painting and Chiba Korean Elementary and Middle School standing up against suppression of freedom of expression, please click here.

You can send an email to the Aichi Prefectural Triennale Promotion Office urging to reopen the exhibition at triennale@pref.aichi.lg.jp. If you’d like to see a copy the letter ESJF sent to the office, please click here. 


[1] http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/904585.html

[2] japantoday.com/category/national/mayor-rapped-for-demanding-halt-of-comfort-women-exhibition

[3] Ibid
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  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Social Justice Education
      • Advocacy >
        • International Community Outreach >
          • Chiba Korean Elementary Middle School >
            • Our First Advocacy
            • ESJF Student Art Competition
            • ESJF Statement: “After ‘Lack of Freedom of Expression?’” Shut Down to Suppress Freedom of Expression
            • Letter to Aichi Prefectural Triennale Promotion Office
          • Days for Girls International
        • Civil Society
    • Blog
    • Interviews and articles
  • Educator Resources
    • Sexual and Gender-based Violence >
      • Japanese military sexual slavery system >
        • Brief Historical Background
        • Lesson Plans and Worksheets >
          • ​In Their Own Words
          • Resistance & Collective activism
          • Denial of legal and historical responsibility
          • ​Remembering and honoring "comfort women"
          • Global plague
          • Contemporary movements towards justice
          • Worksheets
          • Puzzles
        • 2017 CA H-SS Framework >
          • Basic questions surrounding the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System
        • Map of "Comfort Women" Memorials in the United States
        • Survivors' Testimonies & Legacies >
          • Korea
          • China
          • Philippines
          • Indonesia
          • Japan
          • Netherlands
        • Primary Source Documents: "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
          • Concerning the Recruitment of Women for Military Comfort Stations
          • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Report No. 49
          • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Bulletin No. 2
          • SEATIC Psychological Warfare Bulletin No. 182
          • G-3 Daily Dairy
          • C.B.I. Roundup
          • Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) No. 470
          • Research Report No. 120: Amenities in the Japanese Armed Forces
          • San Francisco Local History >
            • Resolutions >
              • Resolution 158-25A1
            • Chronology: Teaching "Comfort Women" History from the 1990s to Present
          • Images
        • Secondary Source Documents and ESJF Statements >
          • Secondary Resource References
          • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, April 21, 2021
          • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, January 8, 2021
          • International Joint Statement, August 14, 2019
          • International Joint Statement, March 1, 2019
          • International Joint Statement, October 6, 2018
          • International Joint Statement, January 7, 2018
        • Reflections on Collective Activism in SF >
          • Reflection and Chronology: Eric Mar
          • Reflection: Steven Whyte & Ellen Wilson
          • Reflection: Sung Sohn
        • International "Comfort Women" Day >
          • 30th Anniversary of Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni's public testimony >
            • Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni
        • 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery
        • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement
        • 2017 Special Task Force Report on 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement between S. Korea and Japan
        • UNESCO and the "Voices of the 'Comfort Women'" >
          • Timeline
          • 2021 Youth Artwork Competition
          • 2021 Young Adult Online Campaign
        • Historic Lawsuits related to Japanese military sexual slavery before and during WWII >
          • Sung Sohn's Essay with commentaries and statement
        • YouTube >
          • First Video Footage of Korean "Comfort Women": July, 2017
          • First Video Footage of Mass Murdered "Comfort Women": Feb. 2018
          • Life as a "Comfort Woman": Story of Kim Bok-Dong
          • Meet Estelita Dy: A Filipino "Comfort Woman" Survivor
          • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement and Victims' Reaction
          • 2018 International "Comfort Women" Day
        • Wednesday Demonstration
        • Peace Statue
      • Sexual and medical violence against Black Americans >
        • Lesson Plans >
          • Medical Experimentation on Enslaved Women
          • Nurse Rivers
      • Conflict-related SGBV in Tigray and Afghanistan
      • Reports and Papers on SGBV & Gender Justice
    • History of and Issues Surrounding Asian Diaspora in the United States >
      • ESJF >
        • 19th Century >
          • Lesson Plans
        • 20th Century >
          • Lesson Plans
        • Today >
          • Lesson Plans
      • TACT >
        • K-5
        • 6-8
        • 9-12
      • Facing History and Ourselves
      • Fred T. Korematsu Institute
      • San Francisco Asian Art Museum
      • Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons >
      • United States >
        • Lesson Plans
      • Asia >
        • Lesson Plans
        • Video Footage for Classroom
        • Primary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
        • Secondary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
      • Europe >
        • Lesson Plans
    • Resistance and Collective Activism >
      • U.S. Slavery
      • Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
  • ESJF Publications
    • "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
      • Teacher Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
      • Student Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons
  • ESJF Professional Development opportunities
  • Get Involved
    • Join Our Email List
    • Donate
    • Contact Us >
      • Workshop and Lecture Request