Body tattoos have long kept some people out of public bathhouses in Japan, but that ban is starting to show signs of easing. Recently Hoshino Resort Company announced a new policy that will allow people to cover their tattoos with a free sticker at their hot spring resorts. This small, hesitant step was big news in Japan, perhaps the only country in the world with such a tattoo ban.
The explanation long given for such a ban is that "normal" people would be frightened or discomforted by tattoos, because of their association with members of criminal organizations who wore them. However, nowadays a small butterfly or heart on a young woman is hardly a sign of criminal connection. For most people, it is another way of expressing oneself.
The social stigma against tattoos runs deep. The mayor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, even demanded that all city workers reveal whether they have tattoos. That demand moved the issue from stigma to violation of privacy rights. It seems anomalous that what is more or less a fashion statement could serve as a reason to deny someone work, or a simple bath.