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The story
On September 18, the National Museum of Art (an independent administrative institution) announced it will progressively raise admission fees for the permanent collections at six facilities — including the National Museum of Western Art and the National Crafts Museum — starting in October. The increase amounts to 2-3 times the current price, attributed to rising transport and security costs driven by inflation and soaring energy prices. On 5ch threads, opinions were split between those who saw the hike as reasonable (“¥500 was too cheap to begin with,” “overseas museums typically charge around ¥5,000”) and those questioning the funding model (“but it’s run on taxpayer money”), with comparisons to admission fees at places like the British Museum and Seoul’s national museums also drawing attention.
National Art Museums Raise Admission Fees at 6 Facilities to 2-3x Current Price Starting October
Fri, Sep 18, 16:15
The National Museum of Art, an independent administrative institution, announced on the 18th that it will progressively raise admission fees for the permanent collections at six facilities — including the National Museum of Western Art (Tokyo) and the National Crafts Museum (Ishikawa Prefecture) — starting this October. Fees will rise to roughly 2-3 times the current price. The museum cites rising costs for transporting and securing artworks due to inflation and soaring energy prices.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
raise prices for everyone else after that
It's only a ¥500 difference (´・ω・｀)
This is basically the end
Japan's art and culture scene is doomed
Same, I figured it'd be like ¥1,500 to ¥3,000
Is the government the devil?!
makes sense — the Turner exhibit at the National Museum of Western Art already costs ¥2,400 for general admission
how long were they going to keep Showa-era prices
they should charge ¥2,000
they're packed with old men
The British Museum is pretty much the only one that's free — other countries charge around ¥5,000 (converted to yen) ^^;
Even at ¥500 → ¥1,000, Japan is still absurdly cheap
but apparently they've still made a success of monetizing it
It's nothing but foreigners there
absolutely packed
https://www.tokyo-zoo.net/ueno/visitor-info/tickets/index.html
That's actually the government's fault — they threatened, 'We won't give you any more budget. Earn your own money or we'll shut you down.'
I've never pictured a line forming, or the place packed, for a permanent collection
Japanese people just aren't that interested in national museums' permanent collections
I've only ever gone on holidays, but the Tokyo National Museum and the Western Art Museum are packed even for the permanent collections
They basically survive on special exhibitions to begin with.
For somewhere like the Western Art Museum, I don't think I've ever actually paid for the permanent collection.
Re: #61
I think the National Museum of Western Art's permanent collection is genuinely impressive though.
I went to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo this past February — foreign tourists paid around ¥5,000, but I was so moved I went back twice during my stay.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is more than five Tokyo Domes in size, so there's no way to see it all in one visit
Japanese people are going to stop going even more, and if foreign tourist numbers ever drop, these museums are dead — another 'negative legacy' project in the making (a wasteful, burdensome public investment)
Background and Key Points
The National Museum of Art is an independent administrative institution that relies heavily on public funding such as operating grants, but in recent years it has faced growing pressure to secure its own revenue. This particular hike targets admission fees for the permanent collections, not special or feature exhibitions — and as one thread reaction (“I thought this meant something like ¥2,000 going to ¥4,000”) illustrates, there’s a gap between how dramatic the phrase “2-3 times” sounds and how small the actual amounts are (roughly ¥500 to ¥1,000). The debate splits between those who consider the increase reasonable when compared to admission fees at major overseas institutions like the British Museum or Seoul’s museums (which run several thousand yen, or are free but rely on a different revenue model), and those who question the very idea of raising fees at a taxpayer-funded facility — with both sides grappling with the underlying question of how much draw the permanent collections actually have and how cultural institutions should secure their operating funds.
※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Art] National Art Museums Raise Admission Fees at 6 Facilities to 2-3x Current Price Starting October.”
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