Hello, I am sorry if this has been addressed before, but I couldn't find anything on it.

I have well, a great deal of scars on my arms.
I wonder if the Japanese would see treat this situation the same as tattoos?
I could easily say they are from a car accident but in all reality they are old self inflicted scars from my teenage years.
I have no tattoos, so do you think a Japanese person would be accepting of me? (or less accepting of me because of it)

I think if I went to study abroad I'd say it's a car accident.
Do you think they'd know?

I know mental disorders and stuff like this is widely accepted in America and other countries but I just wonder how I should act about this when I get to Japan.

Thanks so much for your input!

Cover them if you can..
and then use the car accident story..
not likely they will press you on it..

.

The stuff you find on the net and post here is sometimes interesting..

But you really should stop putting your name on it.. that makes it plagiarism.

You don't have to lie if someone asks you.
You can just say you have them from childhood and that's it. No one will ask you if they see that you don't speak about it yourself.

Tattoos are different stories. They are thought as a symbol of criminal reacord. That is why you can't visit a public bath or "onsen" if you have tattoo(s).