The Nagoya Citizens' Gallery Sakae, which is hosting exhibition "Our own After 'Freedom of Expression?'" is seen in Naka Ward, Nagoya, on July 6, 2021. (Mainichi/Koji Hyodo)

       NAGOYA -- An exhibition in this central Japan city featuring a controversial statue symbolizing wartime "comfort women" was suspended on July 8 on safety grounds, after the gallery hosting it received a delivery containing firecrackers that exploded when it was opened.

       The exhibition, titled, "Our own After 'Freedom of Expression?'" is being held at the Nagoya Citizens' Gallery Sakae in Naka Ward, Nagoya, in central Japan. The gallery said it was temporarily suspending use of the facility on the grounds that safe operation had been hindered.

       According to Aichi Prefectural Police's Naka Police Station, a suspicious package was delivered to the gallery on the morning of July 8. When staff opened it under the watch of officers who arrived at the scene, items that appeared to be firecrackers are said to have exploded. Nobody was hurt.

       The original version of the exhibition was featured at the 2019 Aichi Triennale international art festival and was temporarily halted following protests.

       (Japanese original by Atsuko Ota and Ayaka Morita, Nagoya News Center)

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