Is it art or political provocation?

Japanese officials are furious over a South Korean artwork that they regard as national insult, said Sarah Kim. In late July, the Korea Botanic Garden in Pyeongchang unveiled a pair of statues titled Heartfelt Apology. One bronze depicts a seated girl, representing the tens of thousands of so-called comfort women who were forced to provide sex to invading Japanese soldiers during World War II. The other statue is of a Japanese man who bears a strong resemblance to current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, kneeling in a low bow before the girl. (The garden’s owner denies it represents Abe.) The work was commissioned in 2016, shortly after the

Atwo countries clinched a deal meant to resolve the wartime sexual slavery issue. Under its terms, Japan apologized and set up a $9.5 million fund for the surviving victims. But victims’ groups criticized the agreement, which did not establish Japan’s legal responsibility for its war crimes and which stipulated that a statue honoring comfort women—placed provocatively in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul—must be removed. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, called the alleged depiction of Abe “unacceptable on the basis of international courtesy” and warned that it will “have a decisive impact on Japan–South Korea relations.”