Bottom Line

A pioneering Japanese washlet company that makes a consumer’s most personal moment its business, has found a place in a Harvard case study. Smita Kothari weighs its global popularity.

- Priya Kuriyan

Winter, 2005, Tokyo: As soon as Aatif Misbah entered the water closet of his Shinagawa Prince Hotel, the toilet seat cover gently lifted itself and welcomed him (with words) in Japanese. It was Misbah’s first trip to Japan and he couldn’t comprehend the local language. Bemused by the encounter, he pushed a couple of buttons on its control panel, only to be assaulted by water from multiple directions followed by a warm flow of air. Eventually, he spotted a button, upon pressing which, the ‘talking’ toilet was silenced for a moment, only to start playing music at high volume.

This unusual phenomenon was a fully-automated toilet,different versions of which are installed in more than three-quarter homes in Japan. In addition to spearheading technologies relating to automobiles and electronics, Japan has also mechanised the cleaning function of human excretion like no other country in the world. Integrating bidet to the toilet seat was only the beginning. Features like seat warming, deodorisation to replace the funny odour, a ‘sound princess’ producing tunes akin to a water flush to conceal the noise made while passing water, water-jet adjustments complementing the pressure and temperature of water, and a blow dryer to dry the wet area post-cleaning—are common in Japan’s new-age restrooms. Some variants of this gadget also measure sugar and hormone levels (for women trying to conceive) which it can email to the doctor through wifi .