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Concept
Toilets in Japan
Summary
Toilets in Japan are sometimes designed more elaborately than toilets commonly seen in other developed nations. European toilets occasionally have a separate bidet whilst Japan combines an electronic bidet with the toilet. The current state of the art for Western-style toilets in Japan is the bidet toilet, which is installed in 81% of Japanese households. In Japan, these bidets are commonly called washlets, a brand name of Toto Ltd., and they may include many advanced features rarely seen outside of Asia. The basic feature set commonly found on washlets consists of anal hygiene, bidet washing, seat warming, and deodorization.
The word toire is an abbreviated form of the English language word "toilet", and is used both for the toilet itself and for the room where it is located.
A common euphemism is otearai. This is similar to the usage in US English of "washroom", which literally means a room where something is washed, and "toilet", which literally refers to the act of self-cleaning. (However, in Canada, "washroom" is equivalent to US "restroom.") It is also common to see another loan translation, keshōshitsu, on signs in department stores and supermarkets, as well as accompanying the public toilet pictogram.
The plain word for toilet is benjo, from the word ben meaning "convenience" or "excrement", and this word is fairly common. It is often used in elementary schools, public swimming baths, and other such public places, and is not especially impolite, although some may prefer to use a more refined word. In many children's games, a child who is tagged "out" is sent to a special place, such as the middle of a circle, called the benjo. Japanese has many other words for places reserved for excretory functions, including kawaya (厠) and habakari (憚り), but most are rare or archaic.
The toilet itself—that is, the bowl or in-floor receptacle, the water tank, et cetera—is called benki (便器). The toilet seat is benza (便座). A potty, either for small children or for the elderly or infirm, is called omaru (sometimes written 御虎子).
Official source
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