Tokyo 2020: are tattoos still taboo at Olympics or has Covid-19 swallowed up the controversy?

Tattoos were seen as one of the areas of concern before the pandemic drastically changed the narrative of the Games
With no international spectators or tourists in Japan, is ink – which is still taboo in modern Japanese culture – still a thing?

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Patrick Blennerhassett

Published: 10:00am, 25 Jul 2021

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Before the pandemic became the all-consuming story of Tokyo 2020, there were questions around athletes and tourists coming into Japan from around the world baring visible tattoos.

Tattoos have long been taboo in Japan given their link to criminal gangs such as the yakuza. This stems from “irezumi”, which are traditional Japanese tattoos that first came to prominence hundreds of years ago and used to be showcased within the country as an art form. Then in 1720, the government decided that instead of cutting off convicted criminals’ noses or ears, they would tattoo their arms or foreheads so people could identify them.

Tattoos further fell out of favour during the turn of the 19th century, known as the Meiji era, when the country was undergoing various changes through European colonisation of the region and modernisation. An article in the Asia Pacific Perspective said while Western countries such as the US became more accepting of tattoos, in Japan they were still an “antisocial ‘mark of disaffiliation’ firmly cemented in the public mindset. To put it plainly, tattoos in Japan have something of an image problem”.

Many places in Japan still ban people from having visible tattoos, such as in bathhouses, saunas, public swimming pools, beaches, gyms and even restaurants. Many yazuka members who have left the criminal lifestyle amid a government clampdown on the groups’ income find it difficult to reintegrate into society if their tattoos are still visible. Some have difficulty finding work and feel stigmatised for their tattoos.

Czech Republic’s Ondrej Balvin sports tattoos on his arm. Photo: AP

Before the pandemic, tattoos were a sticking point leading up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, where matches were held all over the country. New Zealand’s All Blacks players made news when they said they were more than happy to cover up their ink in public because of the cultural sensitivities.

A landmark ruling by Japan’s Supreme Court in September of 2019 has shown that traditional norms are starting to budge when it comes to the ancient practices. The country’s highest court ruled for the first time that tattooing someone without a medical licence is not a violation of the medical practitioners’ law.

Nyjah Huston, of the United States, practises during an Olympic qualifying skateboard event. Huston has tattoos all over his body. Photo: AP

The Second Petty Bench turned down an appeal by prosecutors over a suit against 32-year-old Taiki Masuda, who tattooed three people and was delivered a fine of HK$10,560. Masuda did not have a medical licence, however, most tattoo shops in Japan are without a licence and therefore are operating illegally. The court also suggested a new law should be enacted if there was a need for legal restrictions when it comes to tattoos.

In siding with Masuda, the bench stated that medical acts were “actions considered medical treatment or health guidance that could cause hygienic harm if not done by doctors”, adding that “tattoos require artistic skills different from medicine, and that it cannot be assumed that doctors do the act exclusively”.

Mexico’s Alexis Vega celebrates after scoring during the second half of a Tokyo Olympic men’s football match. Photo: Kyodo

Countless athletes competing in Tokyo have visible tattoos and they will be on show in sports such as swimming, gymnastics, basketball, football and skateboarding, where the bodies are not fully covered by equipment or jerseys. These include American swimmer Caeleb Dressel, skateboarder Nyjah Huston and Czech Republic basketball player Ondrej Balvin.

Getting the Olympic rings tattooed on one’s body is also a common practice for athletes and many heading to Tokyo will be sporting the ink, including Swedish swimmer Michelle Coleman, Italian gymnast Vanessa Ferrari and Croatian gymnast Ana Derek.