Japanese museum threatens to dump works that include mock video of PM Shinzo Abe speaking broken English

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Visitors look at a video work in which an artist plays the part of Japanese prime minister making a speech in poor English. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:15pm, 29 Jul 2015Updated: 4:14pm, 29 Jul 2015

One of Japan’s best-known contemporary artists is locked in a fight with a public museum over claims it has threatened to pull the plug on works critical of the conservative government.

Makoto Aida said the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo told him to yank the pieces from an exhibit that started last week because they were “not suitable” for kids, but the museum countered that it just asked him to “modify” his creations.

“I was told that the works were not appropriate and that they wanted me to remove them,” the artist said.

He added that the demand followed a complaint from a visitor and at the request of the Tokyo city government.

One piece, a video installation, appears to mock nationalist premier Shinzo Abe, whose popularity has dived as parliament debates controversial legislation aimed at expanding the scope of Japan’s military, which is currently limited to a narrowly defensive role.

The legislation, which Abe says is necessary to counter rising regional tensions, is controversial in pacifist Japan and has sparked rare protests.

Aida’s video depicts the artist pretending to be Abe making a speech in broken English, while a large calligraphy mildly mocking the education ministry hangs nearby.