[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Min-jae] A Japanese court has upheld in the second trial that local governments cannot refuse to pay subsidies for art festivals on the grounds that they exhibited the 'Statue of Peace,' symbolizing the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery.
According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 3rd, the Nagoya High Court dismissed Nagoya City's appeal against the first trial ruling ordering the payment of subsidies to the 'Aichi Triennale 2019' executive committee, which exhibited the Statue of Peace and other works. The court upheld the first trial ruling ordering Nagoya City to pay the unpaid amount of 33.8 million yen (approximately 330 million KRW).
Previously, Nagoya City decided to grant 171 million yen to the Aichi Triennale executive committee. However, during the Aichi Triennale held from August to October 2019, Nagoya City only paid 137 million yen, citing issues with the content of the planned exhibition 'After "The Non-Freedom of Expression"'. The executive committee demanded payment of the remaining 33.8 million yen in 2020 and obtained a payment order in the first trial this May.
In the appeal trial, Nagoya City argued, "Some exhibits in 'The Non-Freedom of Expression' violate political neutrality," and "Spending public funds on such an exhibition risks losing citizens' trust, and there are reasonable grounds for the decision not to pay."
However, the second trial court reaffirmed the first trial ruling that "It is inevitable that art may cause discomfort to viewers." It judged that the mayor of Nagoya's decision to refuse payment of the unpaid amount on the grounds that the exhibition content violated public interest was "beyond the scope of discretionary authority."
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