A meeting was held this week by Japan's House of Councilors Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense. Among the topics discussed: tattoos.

Japanese society has traditionally taken a dim view of tattoos, due to their long historical association with the yakuza, Japan's organized crime syndicates. However, Liberal Democratic Party member Masahisa Sato, a former member of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and one of the five directors of the committee, thinks the SDF could do with a softening of its stance against inked body art.

Currently, candidates looking to enlist in the SDF have their applications rejected if they have tattoos. Sato feels there are two problems with this policy. Japan’s low birth rate means that the country’s population is shrinking and aging, leaving a smaller and smaller pool of citizens who are within the feasible age range for active SDF service. Further cutting down that candidate pool by dismissing applicants out of hand for having tattoos is only making the situation more difficult, Sato asserts. “Rejecting applicants for having tattoos presents a problem in terms of bolstering our number of enlisted personnel.” ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH