No job for tattooed people: Japan declares war on body art

University graduates in Japan’s second city face getting their tattoos removed if they want to get a job in Osaka as the city’s authorities have introduced a ban on body art.

The ban has been imposed only on government employees. The city’s mayor, Toru Hashimoto, has even decreed that each candidate must be checked for tattoos, The Daily Mail reports. The measure comes as part of an attempt to prevent members of organized criminal gangs getting jobs with government bodies.
Getting a job in Japan is difficult enough to begin with and, now, with the global economic crisis and last year’s earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster, it is even harder for Japanese youth to find work.
The tattoo issue is yet another obstacle. Japan’s cosmetic surgeons have already reported a rising number of requests for permanent body art removal, The Times newspaper says.