Criticism of curatorship by Minister of State for Regional Revitalization

On April 16, at a seminar on regional development held at a hotel in Ōtsu City, Shiga Prefecture, YAMAMOTO Kōzō, Minister of State for Regional Revitalization, indicated that curators working at museums lack understanding of tourism promotion and voiced his opinions that the biggest cancer is cultural curators and that that needs to be eradicated. The statement was based on a misconception that the British Museum had dismissed all curators who opposed the museum’s major renovation. Criticisms poured in from people working in the field of cultural properties. On the following day, April 17, the minister apologized and announced that he would retract its statement. (Japanese)