The Hague’s world-renowned Girl with a Pearl Earring painting by Vermeer is travelling to Japan, accompanied by a delegation from the city led by Mayor Jan van Zanen. While the masterpiece will take centre stage in Osaka, the visit will also open doors for new co-operation between The Hague’s peace and justice ecosystem and Japan and South Korea.
In Osaka, the masterpiece will take centre stage in the exhibition Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring: Dutch Masterpieces of the 17th Century. Van Zanen attended the official opening on 19 August.
The Girl’s visit is part of a wider mission connecting The Hague with partners across Japan and South Korea.
In Japan, Van Zanen will meet Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike and the mayors of Osaka and Kyoto, Hideyuki Yokoyama and Koji Matsui. The meetings will focus, among other topics, on the role cities and local governments can play in addressing international challenges. The programme also includes a visit to the Kyoto Museum for World Peace.
In South Korea, the focus will expand to cybersecurity as an important part of The Hague’s peace and justice ecosystem. Meetings in Seoul will explore opportunities for cybersecurity companies considering European expansion and a potential presence in The Hague.
Mayor Van Zanen will also meet former judges who have worked in The Hague, reinforcing the longstanding ties between South Korea and the city’s international legal community.
Van Zanen will visit WeGO, the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organisation, and travel to Daejeon for meetings with the city’s mayor and KAIST, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
The longstanding connection between The Hague and South Korea will be marked with a wreath-laying at the Yi Jun Memorial in Seoul. Korean diplomat Yi Jun travelled to The Hague in 1907 during the Second Hague Peace Conference and died in the city.
The Girl with a Pearl Earring will be on display at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka from 21 August to 27 September 2026, alongside eleven other works from the Mauritshuis collection.
The exceptional loan coincides with the temporary closure of the Mauritshuis. The painting rarely leaves The Hague but has previously travelled to Japan during the renovation of the museum between 2012 and 2014.
