23:14 Sunday 02 December 2018 JST

In 2017, Masuda Futoshi was fined 150,000 yen for tattooing customers
without a medical license.

Recently, the Japanese high court reversed the decision.

Tattoos have historical and artistic significance.  Tattoos are social
customs in modern society.  Therefore the court decided ”tattoos are
fundamentally different from medical work.”

Tattoos have traditionally been an art form for many years.  The
decision to call them medical treatment is hard to defend.

The debate is not over.  Yasuhiro Tanabe, the prosecutor said, "we
will respond appropriately after studying the judgment."