Tattoes in Japan

[Jncocontrol]

Hey, I'm sure this topic has been done to death, but i wanted to ask that a gaijin who is looking for work that has a few piercing and a few tat's would find it difficult?

I've been under the impression that Foreigner are kind of exempt from the cultural context of japan, is that true?
Or if they do hiring you, I gotta cover up my tats and remove my peircings.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Other things to worry about also.

Getting a visa to stay and work in Japan is something you will need to look into. Your ability to speak and read Japanese on a high level will make finding a job easier. If you make it past those barriers , probably the tats and piercings would limit you in many types of work you could get.

Uncle Frank

:?

 

[nahadef]

Do you want to work in an office or in a night club in Shibuya?

If you want to fit into the society in a general way, then piercings and tatoos are totally forbidden. If you want to spend your time mainly living in the subcultures, you could get away with it, but have a hell of a hard time getting a visa, since those sort of businesses are less part of the mainstream system.

Think of Japan as America in the 1950s. And foreigners are not exempt from social rules.

 

[theBrokenMonkey]

It all depends on the employer, and how honest you are about it. I have a few tattoos and I have not faced many problems because of it. But I can cover mine up by wearing a 3/4 sleeve, if you can cover yours you have no problem. I cover them while working, as I would have back home, but my employer knows they are there.
Working as an ALT can be problematic however, since they might replace you should they find out that you are tattooed. I've hear of one case where the ALT was spotted in his/her freetime by a student, word got around and job finished. I'd say the piercings have to go however.
Many people seem to think that you are crippled in Japan if you have tattoos, that is not my experience at all. There will be some troubles, sure, but mostly it won't affect you. A lot of japanese young people have tattos too, if you look for it you see them everywhere.
My biggest problem is that I am not allowed to pools.

Def in kind of right about the 50's though I guess.
Working as a teacher in Japan you are expected to look nice. No beard, no extravagant hair styles or colors, clean but discreet make-up, no shorts, no "weird" clothes, no bare feet and so on. In such an environment showing off tattos and/or piercings is obviously not going to land you a teaching job. I suppose the same goes for an office wi an even stricter dress code added.
Frank is also right about there being other hurdles too, and more important ones...