Japanese women likes to keep the skin white.
There was also fashionable to sunburn in a part,but Japanese had a sense that white skin is more beautiful.
There is a Japanese proverb that show it.
肌の白いは七難隠す Hada no shiroi ha shichinan kakusu
Direct translation is, white skin hides seven defects.
It means that,even if her appearance is somewhat bad,white skin makes up for it,and makes her to looks beautiful.
This proverb is not a compliment pure.
But it represents a Japanese sense of beauty very well.
When recent Japanese women walk outdoors,they use a parasol and the cosmetics that prevent ultraviolet.
They are careful to protecting their skin. They don't regret an effort,and they spend money and a lot of time for that.
According to one estimate,in old days,white skin female image is a person of the upper class that does not the manual labor in outdoors.
There is no such thing now.
However, women seem to hate the ultraviolet.
If foreigners look at the hypersensitive state of Japanese girls,it may seem a bit funny.
