Japan’s highest court has decided that tattoo artists can work without a medical license, ending a long legal fight for 32-year-old tattoo artist Taiki Masuda.
The case against Masuda began in 2015, when police searched his Osaka apartment, as well as those of other tattoo artists.
While tattoos have a long history in Japan, they were banned in the late 19th century. They were made legal again in 1948, but in 2001 the country’s health ministry said that putting ink into someone’s skin should be considered a medical procedure, so only those with a medical license should be allowed to give tattoos. Japan does not offer tattoo licenses, so it became difficult for tattoo artists to work legally.
Masuda was given a fine of 300,000 yen, or about $2,850, for giving tattoos to three people without a medical license between 2014 and 2015.
He decided to take his case to court, but in 2017 the Osaka District Court found Masuda guilty of breaking the Medical Practitioners’ Act, though it reduced his fine to 150,000 yen, or about $1,400. At the time, the court said that giving tattoos was “a danger to health” unless the procedure was done by a doctor.
But Masuda continued to fight, and in November 2018, the Osaka High Court came to a different decision, saying that getting a tattoo is not a medical procedure, and that tattoos are artistic, not medical.
The case continued to Japan’s Supreme Court. On September 16, the top court rejected prosecutors’ final appeal against Masuda, stating that tattoos need artistic skills that are different from medicine, and these are skills that doctors may not have.
The court also said that if it is necessary to control any dangers from giving tattoos, then a new law needs to be made.
