hankyoreh

issued after the Chinese Cultural Revolution. (photo by Ahn Se-hong

By Jung Nam-kyu, Tokyo correspondent

A Japanese court ruled that Nikon Salon must allow Ahn Se-hong to use their venue as originally planned for an exhibition on comfort women left behind in China.

Nikon Salon previously abruptly cancelled its plans to host an exhibition by the Korean-Japanese photographer.

The Juju Project, a group handling preparations for the exhibition, said June 22 that Tokyo District Court issued the ruling response to an injunction filed against Nikon Salon by Ahn asking that the cancelation decision be ruled invalid.

If Nikon Salon does allow use of its venue according to the ruling, it will be Japan's first exhibition of photographs of comfort women taken by a Korean photographer.

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In its ruling, the court said that while the photographs were clearly of a political nature, the exhibition itself did not constitute political activity because the photographs were limited to artistic expression.

"It was not right for Nikon Salon to suddenly announce the cancelation just a month before the scheduled opening date after previously publicizing the event with the media," the court said.

Ahn called the ruling "entirely reasonable," adding that Nikon should take steps to ensure no more infringements of a photographer's freedom of expression due to political pressures.

Ahn's photographs depict former comfort women who were taken to China to serve as sexual slaves to the Japanese military under colonial rule and were unable to return home after the Second World War ended. He was selected through a Nikon Salon competition in January, with the exhibition scheduled for the Nikon Salon exhibition space in Tokyo's Shinjuku neighborhood between June 26 and July 9.

But Nikon Salon abruptly notified Ahn on May 22 that he would not be able to hold the exhibition, without giving a specific reason. Observers believe it succumbed to political pressures, including demonstrations by members of the country's right wing in front of the Nikon headquarters. Ahn's injunction with Tokyo District Court came in response to the decision.

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