世論 What Japan Thinks

Having previously looked at bum-washing toilets, iShare recently shifted their gaze towards public toilets.

Demographics

Between the 7th and 10th of January 2009 412 members of the free email forwarding service CLUB BBQ completed a private online questionnaire. 55.1% of the sample were male, 13.3% in their twenties, 46.8% in their thirties, 32.3% in their forties, and 7.5% in their teens or aged fifty or older.

Note that there is a relatively low percentage of women looking for bum-washing toilets in Q3. Whether this is due to the average women’s toilet being of a higher standard than the men’s or if this is a reflection of women being less trusting of the hygene (see the previous survey) I don’t know!

Research results

Q1: Sit or squat? (Sample size=412)

	All	Male N=227	Female N=185
Sit, Western style	89.1%	89.0%	89.2%
Squat, Japanese style	10.9%	11.0%	10.8%

Q2: Do you think toilets in shops and public facilities are unhygenic? (Sample size=412)

	All	Male N=227	Female N=185
Don’t think they are unhygenic	9.0%	9.7%	8.1%
Think they are a little unhygenic	62.1%	59.5%	65.4%
Think they are unhygenic	28.9%	30.8%	26.5%

Q3: What features would you like to see on toilets in shops and public facilities? (Sample size=412, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=227	Female N=185
Deodorising	62.1%	58.1%	67.0%
Toilet seat disinfectant wipes	61.4%	56.4%	67.6%
Heated toilet seat	49.5%	45.8%	54.1%
Paper toilet seat cover	41.5%	39.2%	44.3%
Bottom washer	35.7%	44.9%	24.3%
Automatic self-cleaner	33.3%	33.0%	33.5%
Oto-hime	24.0%	7.5%	44.3%
Automatic lid open and close	15.3%	16.7%	13.5%
Warm-air dryer	10.0%	11.9%	7.6%
Other	2.7%	2.6%	2.7%