WBO superfly world champ Ioka warned over visible tattoos

Pathetic. The sight of two boxers pummeling each other to unconsciousness is fine, but when a little bit of body art becomes visible, the fans feel uncomfortable.

Yet when a foreign boxer in the super-flyweight division competes against a Japanese boxer in Tokyo . . . . . the fans don't feel uncomfortable?

Look at the image here from 2017:

https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/featured-boxing-articles-boxing-news-videos-rankings-and-results/41443-boxing-juggernaut-inoue-treads-water

What a stupid rule.

The idea is that tattoos could give the impression of organized crime involvement is really quite funny....If you know anything about boxing in Japan, professional boxing especially!

Peter NeilToday  09:17 pm JST

Japan doesn't like tattoos. It's their prerogative. Don't shove your mores down the throats of others.

Japan does not like everything and anything that is different: "The nail....."

Utter intolerance.

Once I worked for a man who had served in the US Navy. I asked him why he didn't have a tattoo and he replied, "I decided if I didn't make a million dollars by the time I was 30 I would turn to a life of crime. And I didn't want any marks on my body that would help the police identify me.

PS: He made a lot more than a million dollars, lost it all, and died penniless at age 71.

Are not birth marks and pimples natural tats?

except the lady at the front desk who started shouting at me because it took me 5 seconds to realize I needed to take off my shoes

She's shouting at you because you're contaminating the shoeless zone.

Oh no! I saw a tattoo! I have been injured! This is serious!

When I visited Dogo Onsen, a guy came in who obviously was Yakuza and had a full body tattoo of a tiger or dragon that covered his entire back and came over his shoulder.

And you know what, no one said anything and the staff didn't ask him to leave. I imagine because they didn't want the trouble. But if someone who's clearly not a yakuza happens to have some tiny tattoo, they get banned. Insane logic.

Dogo onsen was nice.. except the lady at the front desk who started shouting at me because it took me 5 seconds to realize I needed to take off my shoes. Omotenashi my arse!

He gave them the middle finger

https://twitter.com/ren___k1/status/1351501602125869056

Grow up , wake up and get real , it is 2021 not 16th century, its modern age !

Who complained and was hurt by this and can they show us where , can they point to the bit that hurts?

Japan doesn't like tattoos. It's their prerogative. Don't shove your mores down the throats of others.

Ridiculous. So many athletes from so many different sports around the world now have tattoos. Even the NZ Foreign Minister has facial tattoos. Time to move with the times Japan!

I come from a culture where tattoos are so common that I don't even notice them. We watched that Ioka fight at my in-laws' house and they instantly commented about his tattoos.

So what? If tattoos make you feel uncomfortable you need help.

Dirty body graffiti.

Jesus this is stupid.

Tattoos were used in ancient China for criminals to discriminate from ordinary citizens. Meiji government prohibited tattoos officially but GHQ admitted tattoos after the war. Our negative feelings about tattoos come from historic background.

China grew out of it, as do most countries when their historic traditions clash with the real world. Japan is the only country in the developed world to hang on to meaningless ancient taboos even when it leaves them as outsiders in the modern world. There is literally no good reason for the tattoo ban except willful and mindless stubbornness.

It is only a problem here, but most Japanese support this rule.

most Japanese over the age of 50. The younger generation are much more tolerant of tattoos.

Japan seriously needs to get over this "tattoo phobia". Like, ok, I get it. They don't want the Yakuzas going into onsens and gyms scaring everybody, starting samurai fights or whatever. But seriously, how many Yakuza with full body tattoos are still out there? Who even cares if some Yakuza came into the sauna or cold bath with them? I honestly think the Yakuza would feel more unfordable letting everyone know who they are. Japan, get over it!

I have never seen presidents of the United States, congressmen, doctors, lawyers, professors, priests with tattoos. Does this mean tattoos are not considered as civilized fashion?

Beep beep! Olympics coming! Let’s welcome the world with open arms and open minds. Japan doesn’t discriminate. Not at all.

Said no one ever.

im sorry but the spectators are there to see the sports person perform. Why is it an issue that the sports person makes spectators uncomfortable?

The blood, broken bones, KOs, knocking each other upside the head etc are OK but your tattoos are making the audience uncomfortable! How moronic is this? Put a mask over your eyes, losers!!

The JBC’s Oyajis feel uncomfortable - oh dear!

I don’t have tats, and I don’t like them; but this is beyond ridiculous

Thank goodness no Games, imagin how "uncomfortable " spectators would feel seeing so many Atherletes sporting tattooed body parts. It's a ridiculous situation. And the guy is a world champ.

It is only a problem here, but most Japanese support this rule.

Tattoos were used in ancient China for criminals to discriminate from ordinary citizens. Meiji government prohibited tattoos officially but GHQ admitted tattoos after the war. Our negative feelings about tattoos come from historic background.

Idiotic. It's all because they believe tatoos are synonymous with organized crime aka yakuza, but if one were to investigate deeply, how much of the boxing world is associated with organized crime let alone the Japanese government? Pure hypocrisy and idiocy.

Unbelievable!!

Japan is 50 to 70 yrs behind the times!

My god.

Embarassed to be Japanese today!

Ashamed of the policies we endure.

You should see his middle fingered response to the boxing committee.

Loved this guys a lot more for that.

Oh, good grief! Will Japan ever grow up?

"manner that will make spectators feel uncomfortable"

They are boxing fans! Seriously?

This is absolutely bizarre. What happens when the world champ faces foreign opponents with tattoos.

Might be the most ridiculous thing I've read on here and that's really saying something recently.