[/floatr]Itai news picks up a Gendai News report (Japanese) which says that the growing popularity of tattoos has also led to a boom in tattoo removal. One account estimates that one in ten people regret their choice. A clinic in Ginza says that, on a busy day, they might get three or four customers visiting for a removal consultation. Around 60% are female with girls in their twenties the most prominent demographic. The reasons are much the same as you'll find elsewhere in the world: the tattoo has become an impediment to finding work or else the design might include a former lover's name which now brings back bad memories. Some girls say they want the surgery to make a new start before getting married. Surveys of "tattoo regret" are likely to turn up quite varied results but 90% satisfaction seems quite high. This report cites a 2004 US survey where "among a group of 18- to 50-year-olds surveyed in 2004, 24 percent reported having a tattoo and 17 percent of those considered getting their tattoo removed".


