Global Courant
Japan’s Defense Ministry is considering lifting a ban on tattoos to boost recruitment numbers for its self-defense force, Japanese media reported.
Potential candidates are currently being rejected for having tattoos.
This is due to a directive from the ministry based on Article 58 of the Self-Defense Forces Act, according to the daily Asahi Shimbun.
The tattoo ban was introduced when the Self-Defense Force was formed in 1954.
Mr. Kazuhito Machida, head of the ministry’s Personnel and Education Office, said the government should consider revising the rule given the country’s declining birth rate.
Another senior ministry official said revisions are needed to be more inclusive. For example, the Ainu indigenous people of Japan have tattoos as part of their tradition.
Japan registered fewer than 800,000 births in 2022, a record low.
That concern is translating into labor shortages, including in the military, at a time when Japan is ramping up its military spending in response to regional security concerns.
Mr. Masahisa Sato, a legislator from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, had raised the tattoo issue in the House of Lords Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense on May 9.
“I think it’s problematic to reject those who are willing to enlist just because they have small tattoos,” said Sato, a former high-ranking member of the defense force.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made stopping the country’s declining birth rate a top priority.
His government plans to spend 3.5 trillion yen ($33.7 billion) annually on childcare and other measures to support parents.
