JAPANESE PURCHASES OF WESTERN ART

Japan imported $1.553 billion worth of paintings in 1989, through the end of October, according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Finance. That compares with $371.1 million in 1986, $807.7 million in 1987 and $1.409 billion in 1988.

A sample of recent purchases of Western masterpieces by Japanese buyers:

* Pablo Picasso’s “Les Noces de Pierrette,” bought by Nippon Autopolis, $48.9 million.

* Picasso’s “The Mirror,” Shigeki Kameyama, $26.4 million.

* Willem de Kooning’s “Interchange,” Shigeki Kameyama, $20.68 million.

* Vincent van Gogh’s “Carriere pres de Saint-Remy,” Yasumichi Morishita, $11.55 million.

* Picasso’s “Man at Sea,” Yasumichi Morishita, $10.08 million.

* Picasso’s “La Maternite,” Yasumichi Morishita, $10 million.

* Amedeo Modigliani’s “Fillette au Tablier Noir,” Fujii Gallery, $7.89 million.

* Claude Monet’s “Fin d’apres midi a Vetheuil,” Yasumichi Morishita, $6.51 million.

* Paul Gauguin’s “Breton Boy With a Goose,” Yasumichi Morishita, $6.2 million.

* Maurice de Vlaminck’s “View of Houses at Chatou,” Fujii Gallery, $2.17 million.

* Gustav Caillebotte’s “Pecheurs sur la Seine,” Yasumichi Morishita, $1.78 million.