Japan upgrades its public toilets for increasingly luxurious relief

National overhaul of facilities as the age of the $700,000 lavatory dawns

20240209 Shibuya toilet

Shielded behind a small forest of cedar boards, part of the "The Tokyo Toilet" project in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. (The Nippon Foundation)

HIROMITSU GOTO, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Public toilets are getting more expensive in Japan, where the cost of construction has doubled over the past decade for an outlay today of over 100 million yen ($674,217) per unit in some cases.

With clean looks inside and out, public toilets are being designed to make users feel more comfortable. In some communities, there have even been efforts to make public restrooms local landmarks.

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