An art exhibition featuring a statue symbolizing "comfort women" that sparked controversy will reopen Tuesday afternoon in Nagoya, central Japan, after it was shut down for two months, Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura said.

The statue, sculpted by a South Korean husband-and-wife team, and other works for the exhibition titled "After 'Freedom of Expression?'" that had been on display before the shutdown will continue to be shown until the art festival containing it ends on Oct. 14.

The exhibition at the Aichi Triennale 2019 was canceled three days after the Aug. 1 opening, with organizers citing security reasons after receiving numerous complaints and threats.

It showcased art works previously not shown due to what critics call censorship, including a piece on Japan's imperial system, besides the statue symbolizing women, many of them Korean, who were recruited to work in Japan's wartime military brothels against their will.

Critics and many artists have argued that the shutdown was an act of censorship, rather than one of safety.

(Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura)

The resumption sometime between Sunday and Tuesday was decided late last month, after the executive committee of the exhibition agreed on four conditions that Omura, who serves as head of the steering committee of the art festival, presented as necessary for reopening.

The conditions included cooperating with security measures and implementing an advanced reservation system using numbered tickets.

"In a perfect way, we will aim for the completion of one of Japan's biggest art festivals," Omura said at a hastily convened press conference on Monday night at the Aichi prefectural government.

The reopening time of the exhibition will be announced on the art festival's website around 10 a.m. Tuesday.


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