Photo/Illutration Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura shows a document from the Agency for Cultural Affairs expressing its commitment to provide a subsidy to Aichi Triennale 2019 at a prefectural government building in Nagoya on Sept. 26. (Masahiro Iwao)

A central government subsidy of about 78 million yen ($724,300) for an international art festival in Aichi Prefecture has been withdrawn after organizers failed to disclose details of a controversial exhibition that drew numerous protests.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs announced on Sept. 26 that it decided to withdraw the subsidy because the organizer of Aichi Triennale 2019 applied for it without disclosing pertinent facts in advance to ensure the safe operation of the art festival.

Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, chairman of the triennale's organizing committee, said he plans to appeal the decision to the central government panel that settles disputes between the central and local governments.

"We will hear from the panel whether there are reasonable arguments (behind the government decision not to grant the subsidy)," Omura told reporters on Sept. 26.

Organizers included the “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” exhibition in the lineup, but suspended its display only three days after it opened on Aug. 1.

Works displayed in the exhibition included a statue of a girl representing a “comfort woman,” who provided sex to Japanese troops before and during World War II, and a video work that showed portraits in flames, including that of Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989), posthumously known as Emperor Showa.

Protests flooded the organizing committee, the prefectural government and other related organizations, and there were also threats of arson. Because of that, the exhibition was suspended.

The total costs of the triennale art festival, which runs through Oct. 14, are about 1.2 billion yen. Of that amount, the prefectural government has provided at least 600 million yen, and the Nagoya city government has shouldered 200 million yen. The central government was also supposed to give 78 million yen as a subsidy for a project to promote the utilization of cultural resources.

An Aichi prefectural committee that looked into the problems of the suspended exhibition determined that about 4.2 million yen of the 1.2 billion yen is related to the exhibition.

According to the committee, the prefectural government recognized in May at the latest that a special security system was necessary for the exhibition.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs judged that it was inappropriate to apply for the subsidy without conveying information that was vital for the smooth operation of the art festival.

The agency decided not to grant 78 million yen based on a law on the appropriate offering of subsidies.

When the contents of the “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” exhibition came to light, Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura, who is serving as an acting chairman of the organizing committee, criticized the exhibition, saying, “It tramples on Japanese people’s hearts.”

He demanded its suspension, saying, “(As public money is used for the exhibition,) it looks as if the entire nation is endorsing it.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also said of the subsidy, “We want to deal with the issue appropriately by confirming and checking facts.”

Since then, the agency has been studying whether to provide the subsidy.

On Sept. 25, Omura said that he will aim to reopen the exhibition before the triennale's closing date by taking safety measures to mitigate dangers, such as threats.

He made the remark in response to the conclusion of the prefectural committee that the organizing committee should resume the exhibition as soon as conditions for its reopening are met.