Agreement Reached to Hold the Exhibition of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, in Japan in 2014

On February 8, Chou Kung-shin, Director of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, conferred with SHIMATANI Hiroyuki, Deputy Director of the Tokyo National Museum, and reached basic agreement that an exhibition of artworks from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, would be held at the Tokyo National Museum in 2014. As the majority of the museum’s artworks were originally located in Beijing, there was a possibility that the Chinese government would seize them if an exhibition of artworks from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was held in Japan. However, following the enforcement of the Act on Facilitation for Exhibiting Overseas Works of Art, etc. to the Public in Japan in September 2011, which prohibits third parties from seizing artworks on loan from overseas, the plan was launched in earnest. In May, it was also agreed in principle that the exhibition would tour to the Kyushu National Museum after it was held at the Tokyo National Museum. (Japanese)