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Comment by byoung2 | Hacker News Reader

Japan has some of the best (heated seats, built-in bidet, etc), and some of the worst (squat-style, no toilet paper), so on average Japan is just so-so. Of the 40 countries I've been to, the United states has the best average toilet standard.

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The opinion about standards is probably subjective to personal (and cultural) preferences. Your criterion for 'worst' toilets in Japan might be same reasons why someone of a different culture would prefer those toilets over the western conventional ones.

(They would argue that squatting allows for a healthier bowel movement, and feel that dry toilet paper can never wipe off poop as well as hand+water.)

that is the amazing thing about Japan. They have the largest discrepancy (by far), of private/public bathrooms. I'd love to know why that is.

Builders get kickbacks from the manufacturer of these smart toilets if they choose to put one in when their client doesn't specify what toilet they want.

Probably not the only reason, but it definitely contributes.

The reason for it, i.e. the reason you believe this, is likely confirmation bias I think. There are poor-quality restrooms in Japan, but whether they are 'public' or 'private' has little to do with it. You can go to a city office, or a police station, and it's even odds what you'll find. Likewise, you can go to a shopping center, and also find examples of both, and I will say that personally some of the worst restrooms I've seen in Japan have been in older shopping malls. Train stations will run the gamut, which doesn't give much evidence either way, regardless of whether you consider those public or private. Parks tend to be lower quality, but there are exceptions.

Instead, what you'll find is that it tends to depend on the age of the building. There are seem to be very few examples of low-quality restrooms built in Japan in the last 10-15 years, regardless of who paid for the building.

yeah, but the fact that there even exists hole-in-the-floor public toilets in Japan kinda ruins your argument. I've been there, and seen it myself multiple times. In the US, I've never seen a hole in the floor bathroom anywhere except camp grounds. (I've also never seen a massaging, heated toilet seat either)

I guess you're really not into those, then. Personally, I don't find them all that bad. In fact, if upkeep at a place is lacking, like e.g. especially in a park or campsite, they're much better.

Anyway, I'm done discussing toilets :-)

I get my best reading done in toilets, so I don't mind talking about them.

Ha, well that certainly explains the antipathy towards squat toilets.

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