Photo/Illutration A sign in front of a hair salon in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, where two Vietnamese are accused of working without a hairdresser's license (Emiko Arimoto)

KAWAGUCHI, Saitama Prefecture--Prefectural police on May 16 arrested two Vietnamese on suspicion of operating a hair salon here without having a hairdresser's license, according to investigative sources.

The two, a 35-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man, are both of Vietnamese nationality and residents of Kawaguchi.

Police believe that they broke a law on hairdressers by offering hairdressing services such as haircuts or perms in a room in a multitenant building to multiple clients.

The woman was effectively the operator of the hair salon and the man was an employee, according to police.

The hair salon opened around two years ago and most of the customers were foreigners, according to sources.

Prefectural police have been investigating the case, believing the shop was an “underground hair salon.”

It is rare for police to take action on such a hair salon.

The man came to Japan on the technical intern training program but later fled the company where he trained. After that, his visa expired, according to police.

A notification to open the hair salon was submitted to a local health center before it started operating.

The local health center then confirmed that the salon complied with relevant standards.

Therefore, police believe that other people than the two arrested were also involved in the salon.

According to investigative sources, the woman is suspected of having done a perm for a 20-something Vietnamese customer without permission from the labor minister in July 2022.

She is also suspected of cutting the hair of customers of Vietnamese and Myanmar nationalities together with the 29-year-old man in February 2023.

The salon has serviced customers daily and prices for the services ranged from 2,000 yen ($14) to 16,000 yen.

Prefectural police will investigate the man under the immigration control law on suspicion of illegally staying in Japan.

They will also investigate the woman on suspicion of encouraging illegal employment under the same law.

In Japan, a government-accredited license is required to work as a hairdresser.

Applicants need to pass paper exams and practical skills tests to obtain their license after acquiring expertise in the field at training institutions designated by the labor ministry.

It takes at least two years to obtain a hairdresser's license.

Cases of unlicensed hairdressers still continue to occur, according to people in the sector.

“Students acquire knowledge on public health including infectious diseases, among other things, at training institutions to become a hairdresser," said Fusako Yoshida, a representative director of the Japan Beauty General Incorporated Association, an organization supporting hair salons. "It’s very dangerous for someone without expertise to give hairdressing services.”

For example, hair coloring or perm products could blind customers or damage their skin if not used correctly, Yoshida said.

To prevent unlicensed hairdressers from working, “Hairdressers should work with their certificates hanging from their necks,” said Yoshida.

She added that she wants customers to distinguish between licensed and unlicensed hairdressers, too.

A 27-year-old hairdresser living in Saitama obtained his license after training at a hairdressing college for two years.

He took instruction at the college five days a week, from morning until evening.

He spent several million yen to become a hairdresser, for the college fees and to purchase implements such as scissors.

He said that even after hairdressers start working at a hair salon, they have to spend years doing various chores, so it takes at least three years to reach the stage to be able to cut customers’ hair.

“It takes so much effort to be a proper hairdresser," the man said. "It’s unforgivable to do hairdressing without a license.”

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