Japan's Supreme Court Legalizes Non-Medical Tattooing

Before, tattoos could apparently be done only by M.D.s.

From nippon.com:

Japan's Supreme Court for the first time has ruled that tattooing people without a medical license does not constitute a violation of the medical practitioners law….

[T]he top court's Second Petty Bench turned down an appeal by public prosecutors over a suit against a 32-year-old man who tattooed three people. It finalizes a high court ruling that overturned a district court verdict fining the man 150,000 yen.

The Second Petty Bench … said that "tattoos require artistic skills different from medicine, and that it cannot be assumed that doctors do the act exclusively," concluding that the practice is not a medical act.

Thanks to Jenny Wilson for the pointer.