International Association of Art Critics, Japan
Michio Hayashi, President

On September 29, 2019, the International Association of Art Critics, Japan published a protest against the decision made by the Agency of Cultural Affairs not to deliver the once-officially promised governmental subsidy to the Aichi Triennale 2019 (this unreasonable decision was made in response to the incident about the “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” section in the Triennale and announced on September 26).
In regard to this matter, the Agency publicly announced on March 23, 2020 to deliver the 85% of the promised subsidy to the Triennale (as a result of the negotiation between the Agency and the Aichi prefectural government). We regard this as an encouraging development but at the same time would like to express our concerns about the reduction of original subsidy by 15% and its potential impact on “freedom of expression” in the future. Moreover, since the process that led to the original cancellation of the subsidy still remains in the dark and thus the possibility of the recurrence of a similar incident lingers on, we are determined to continue to demand the Agency of Cultural Affairs and other organizers of cultural events to protect the principle of “freedom of expression.”