Step into any public restroom stall in Japan and you’re likely to be enveloped in a soundscape. No, not that kind. It’s the babble of running water, perhaps peppered with cheerful tweets and birdsong, ...

Many visitors regard Japan as the gateway to the future. Technologically speaking, the East Asian country is so much more advanced than the majority of other nations, from huge robot butlers that ...

In public places across Japan, older floor-level toilets still appear with some regularity. They sit low to the ground, set into tiled floors, and look unfamiliar to many visitors. What often causes ...

The past century has been one of relentless innovation. But in the West the humble toilet is a curious exception. By the early 20th century, free-standing flush toilets with U-bend plumbing were being ...