You don't need a license to become a tattoo artist in Japan. A 2020 Supreme Court decision confirmed that tattooing by an artist who is not a doctor is not a medical act, and there is no other law that licenses or regulates tattoo artists. The usual ways to learn are an apprenticeship at a studio or a private tattoo school, and the hygiene standard to follow is a draft guideline from a research team funded by Japan's health ministry.
Key takeaways
- No license or certification is required to tattoo in Japan, and since 2020 no medical license either
- The usual routes are an apprenticeship at a studio or a tattoo school. Teaching yourself makes hygiene hard to learn
- Apprentice listings we found set upper age limits of about 27 to 30 and ask to see your drawings
- The hygiene benchmark: single-use needles, and machines cleaned, disinfected and sterilized after each client
- Saitama, Hokkaido and Okinawa generally ban tattooing anyone under 18. Check the rules where you work
- Browse tattoo artists in Japan
To see the kind of work artists in Japan are doing now, browse tattoo artists by region and style on Tattoo Japan. For how pay works once you're qualified, see our guide to how much tattoo artists make in Japan.
Do You Need a License to Tattoo in Japan?
No. On September 16, 2020, Japan's Supreme Court ruled that tattooing by a tattoo artist who is not a doctor is not a "medical act" under the Medical Practitioners' Act. (Source: Supreme Court of Japan, Case No. 2018 (A) 1790 (Japanese))
Until then, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) treated tattooing as a medical act, so doing it as a business without a medical license broke the law. (Source: MHLW-funded research report on tattoo safety, 2023 (Japanese, PDF))
The case involved a tattoo artist who worked at a shop in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The first-instance court fined the artist ¥150,000, the Osaka High Court overturned that and acquitted them, and the Supreme Court dismissed the prosecutors' appeal. The court described tattooing as work that calls for knowledge and skill in art, which is different from medicine and isn't taught on the way to a medical license. (Source: Supreme Court decision, full text (Japanese, PDF))
There is no other license to get. A 2023 research report funded by the MHLW notes that Japan has no law that licenses or regulates tattooing or tattoo artists. (Source: MHLW-funded research report (Japanese, PDF); MHLW research database (Japanese)) A certificate from a tattoo school is not a legal requirement either.
No license doesn't mean no responsibility
The Supreme Court added that the health risks of tattooing have to be prevented by means other than reserving it for doctors. That is where the hygiene guideline below comes in.
Three Ways to Learn: Apprenticeship, School or Self-Teaching
| Route | How you learn | Money | Hygiene training |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprenticeship | Working in a studio | Paid if employed | Taught on the job |
| Tattoo school | Classes | You pay tuition | Depends on the course |
| Self-taught | Drawing and practice | Cost of equipment | Hard to learn alone |
Tattoo Apprenticeships in Japan
An apprentice joins a studio and learns by working under its artists. Here is what three studios ask for in their current listings.
| Studio | Apprentice age | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sol Design Nagoya | Up to 30 | Details after you apply |
| STROKER TATTOO | About 20 to 27 | No experience needed |
| Tattoo Studio SEEK | 20 to 30 | Has a training program |
Sol Design Nagoya Tattoo Studio shares the details of its apprentice (assistant) position after you apply. STROKER TATTOO in Yokohama doesn't require experience but won't take students. Tattoo Studio SEEK, which has shops in Tokyo, runs a training program and also takes trainees. (Sources: Sol Design Nagoya recruitment page; STROKER TATTOO apprentice listing, Oct 2026; Tattoo Studio SEEK recruitment page, all Japanese)
An apprenticeship is not a course you finish and leave. STROKER TATTOO says that training on a salary is different from going to a school, and it looks for apprentices who will stay on as the studio's own artists. (Source: STROKER TATTOO, notes for apprentice applicants, Jan 2023 (Japanese))
If a studio employs you, Japan's minimum wage applies. The MHLW says the regional minimum wage covers every worker, whatever the job is called, including part-timers. (Source: MHLW, scope of the minimum wage (Japanese)) Ask whether you'll be employed and what you'll be paid before you start.
Expect to show your drawings. Sol Design Nagoya asks for a résumé with a photo and several photos of your work or designs, sent through its official LINE account. STROKER TATTOO asks you to bring drawings made with paper and colored pencils or similar to the interview, and won't accept digital work alone.
Tattoo Schools
At a tattoo school you pay tuition to be taught. Length, content and fees differ from school to school, and some studios teach paying students separately from their apprentices, as STROKER TATTOO says it can. (Source: STROKER TATTOO (Japanese)) Before you sign up, ask:
- What the total cost is, including equipment
- How much of the course covers hygiene: needles, sterilizing equipment, disposing of waste
- Who supervises hands-on practice, and what you practice on
- What, if anything, the school promises after you finish
Teaching Yourself
Nothing in Japanese law stops you from teaching yourself, but hygiene is the hard part. The MHLW-funded guideline expects separate tattooing and cleaning rooms, two sinks (one for hands, one for equipment), puncture-proof containers for used needles, and infectious waste collected by a contractor, with records kept for five years. (Source: MHLW-funded research report, full text (Japanese, PDF)) That is hard to set up at home.
What you can practice on your own is drawing, design and linework on synthetic practice skin. Find somewhere you can be taught hygiene before you tattoo a person.
Can Foreigners Become Tattoo Artists in Japan?
Nothing in tattoo law stops you, but immigration rules apply. Japan's Immigration Services Agency says the work a foreign resident may do depends on their status of residence, and paid work outside it needs permission in advance. Permanent residents and long-term residents have no work restrictions. (Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan (Japanese)) Check what your status allows before you accept a paid apprenticeship.
The apprentice listings above are written in Japanese, and the studios ask applicants to apply by phone, email or LINE.
What Studios Look For
Drawing. STROKER TATTOO says it judges applicants by how much care goes into their drawings and turns away quick sketches. Its advice to anyone serious about tattooing is to start drawing now. (Source: STROKER TATTOO (Japanese)) Tattooing covers many styles, from Japanese traditional to black and grey and fine line, so drawing in the style you want to tattoo gives your practice a direction.
People skills. A tattoo stays on a client for life, so you need to understand what they want and turn it into a design. STROKER TATTOO's listing says tattooing is a customer-facing job and not for people who struggle to communicate. (Source: STROKER TATTOO apprentice listing (Japanese))
Attitude. Sol Design Nagoya asks for apprentices who want to improve and take advice well. STROKER TATTOO wants people who enjoy dealing with others and work well with the team.
Hygiene Standards: Single-Use Needles and Sterilization
With tattooing no longer under the Medical Practitioners' Act, Japan had no safety law covering it. A research team funded by the MHLW (fiscal 2022) drafted a guideline on hygiene management in tattoo studios, drawing on infectious disease specialists and working with the Japan Tattooist Association (Nihon Tattooist Kyokai), which had published its own guideline in 2019. (Source: MHLW research database; summary report (PDF), both Japanese)
Key points of the draft guideline:
- Needles are single-use. Put them straight into a puncture-proof container and never reuse or re-sterilize them
- Use disposable ink caps, cups, grips and tubes wherever possible
- Cover the machine with a disposable barrier, then clean, disinfect and sterilize it after each client (autoclave at 121°C for at least 20 minutes where the machine allows)
- Wear disposable gloves and a mask, and disinfect your hands
- Have infectious waste collected by a contractor and keep the records for five years
- Appoint a hygiene manager for each studio and train the staff
- Have a plan for needlestick injuries (the guideline names hepatitis B and C, HIV and syphilis), and consider the hepatitis B vaccine for staff
(Source: MHLW-funded research report, full text (Japanese, PDF))
The report notes that the guideline has no legal force for now, so following it is up to each studio and artist. Because nobody enforces it, learn it during your training.
Age Rules for Tattoo Artists and Clients
We found no law that sets a minimum or maximum age for becoming a tattoo artist; the age limits in apprentice listings are each studio's own.
Clients are a different matter. Prefectural youth ordinances in Saitama, Hokkaido and Okinawa, for example, ban tattooing anyone under 18 (Saitama and Okinawa allow an exception where there is a legitimate reason). Hokkaido's ordinance adds that not knowing the client's age is no defense unless the artist wasn't negligent. (Sources: Saitama ordinance, Art. 19-2; Hokkaido ordinance, Art. 39 and 65; Okinawa ordinance, Art. 18-3, all Japanese PDFs) Rules vary by prefecture, so check the ordinance where you work and confirm each client's age.
Opening Your Own Studio in Japan
Experienced artists can work at a studio, join one as an independent contractor, or open their own. Tattoo Studio SEEK, for example, hires experienced artists as contractors on full commission. (Source: Tattoo Studio SEEK (Japanese)) Our guide to tattoo artist pay in Japan works through what each arrangement means for income.
Running your own studio means paying for rent and utilities, machines and other equipment, single-use supplies such as needles and ink, sterilizing equipment, infectious waste collection and advertising. Price out what it takes to meet the hygiene guideline before you sign a lease.
The paperwork for a sole proprietor:
- Business start notification: file a notice of opening a business with the tax office, by the tax return deadline for the year you start (National Tax Agency, No.2090)
- Income tax: business income is revenue minus necessary expenses, declared in a tax return (No.1350)
- Pension: residents aged 20 to 59 who aren't in the employees' pension scheme pay their own national pension contributions (Japan Pension Service)
- Consumption tax: generally exempt if taxable sales two years earlier were ¥10 million or less, unless you're registered to issue qualified invoices (No.6501; all Japanese)
Once your studio is open, you can list it on Tattoo Japan for free, with your style, an introduction, booking details and photos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a license to be a tattoo artist in Japan?
No. Since the 2020 Supreme Court decision, tattooing by a non-doctor is not treated as a medical act, and Japan has no law that licenses or regulates tattoo artists.
Is tattooing legal in Japan?
Yes. The Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that tattooing by a non-doctor is not a medical act, settling a long legal question for tattoo artists. Some prefectures ban tattooing people under 18.
How old do you have to be to get a tattoo in Japan?
At least 18 in prefectures whose youth ordinance covers tattooing, such as Saitama, Hokkaido and Okinawa. Rules differ by prefecture, so ask the studio.
How old do you have to be to become a tattoo artist in Japan?
We found no law that sets a minimum age to become a tattoo artist. Studios set their own limits for apprentices: in the listings above, Sol Design Nagoya takes apprentices up to 30, STROKER TATTOO about 20 to 27, and Tattoo Studio SEEK 20 to 30.
Can you teach yourself to tattoo?
Legally, yes. In practice, meeting the hygiene guideline alone is hard: it calls for separate rooms, two sinks and contracted infectious waste collection. Learn hygiene from a studio or a course before you tattoo anyone.
Can foreigners apprentice at a tattoo studio in Japan?
Only within what your status of residence allows. Paid work outside it needs advance permission from the Immigration Services Agency; permanent and long-term residents have no work restrictions.
The Bottom Line
You don't need a license to tattoo in Japan, which puts the responsibility for skill and hygiene on you. The main routes are an apprenticeship or a school, and either way the starting point is drawing, a lot of it.
Look at studios in the area where you'd like to work and at artists whose style you admire, then check the studios' own sites for apprentice listings.
This article is based on public information as of October 2026.
