The Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant accident have led overseas museums to rescind agreements to loan collections, leaving Japanese organizers no choice but to suspend planned exhibitions.
The Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant accident have led overseas museums to rescind agreements to loan collections, leaving Japanese organizers no choice but to suspend planned exhibitions.
"Masterpieces of French Paintings from the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow," which was to have run from April to December in Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe was canceled, according to the Asahi Shimbun Co., one of the organizers.
The newspaper company said it was informed in mid-March, when the nuclear accident turned out to be more serious than initially thought, by the museum and Russia's Ministry of Culture that they "could not loan the museum's collection under the present status."
After negotiating, The Asahi Shimbun decided to cancel the exhibitions in all three cities. The company will consider holding it in a few years.
France, meanwhile, advised its museums to suspend loans of collections and staff exchanges for the time being. The country also urged its citizens in Japan to evacuate immediately after the earthquake of March 11.
That move forced Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art to cancel its planned "Maurice Denis exhibition," while the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum canceled its "Birth of Impressionism" show.
Also affected was a loan of works by Giovanni Segantini from Switzerland and Italy at the Seiji Togo Memorial Museum (Sompo Japan Museum of Art) in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. It was canceled apparently because some collectors decided not to lend their collections under the circumstances.
In addition, the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, canceled its planned Giorgio Morandi exhibition because an Italian insurance company refused to insure the exhibits, sources said.
The nuclear plant has yet to be stabilized.