“Even men require a sanitary bin in the toilet!!
Part 4 – Let’s ask the people who did the installation.
Speakers
- 1．Initiatives of Akashi City
Creating a city where everyone can go out with ease
— Sanitary Bin Installation Support Project (Safe Toilets for Everyone Project)
Taro Mori (Akashi City) - 2．Initiatives of Nagasaki City
Yuko Baba (Nagasaki City), Harumi Takenaka (Toilet for Everyone Council)
Moderator
- Mikiko Takahashi, Ph.D. (Director of JTA, Manager of R&D Division of Comany Inc.)
Overview
(Moderator: Takahashi)
Thank you for joining us today for the 41st session of “Let us know more about our Toilet Story.”
This time, as the fourth installment of the series “Even men require a sanitary bin in the toilet!”, we will hear from Akashi City in Hyogo Prefecture and Nagasaki City in Nagasaki Prefecture—both of which have been taking pioneering steps to install sanitary bins in men’s toilets.
To begin, I would like to explain why sanitary bins are needed in men’s restrooms as well. In women’s restrooms, sanitary bins are installed in each cubicle for the disposal of used menstrual products. However, when we ask men, quite a few say they “don’t even know what a sanitary bin is.”
In reality, though, some men face issues such as urinary leakage or fecal incontinence due to aging or medical conditions—for example, after surgery for bladder cancer. These individuals routinely use incontinence pads or adult diapers, but unlike women’s restrooms, men’s restrooms typically have no place to dispose of them.
The late TV anchor Mr. Ogura, who recently passed away, publicly shared that he frequently used incontinence pads after undergoing bladder cancer surgery. He spoke out about the inconvenience of having nowhere to dispose of soiled pads and having to take them home while worrying about odor. His message brought broader social attention to this issue.
According to a February 2022 survey by the Japan Toilet Association, 27.1% of men aged 70 and older reported using incontinence pads or similar products. In addition, about half of those who face difficulties related to toileting responded that they had refrained from going out for that reason, making it a significant barrier to social participation.
Notably, 64.1% of men who use pads said that their biggest challenge was “having no place to dispose of them,” a figure dramatically higher than that for women (22.1%). This clearly reflects the current situation in which sanitary bins are not provided in men’s restrooms.
Today, we will take a close look at leading case studies addressing this issue. We will hear in detail about the background of installing sanitary bins, the challenges before and after installation, and the current situation.
Initiatives of Akashi City
Creating a city where everyone can go out with ease
— Sanitary Bin Installation Support Project (Safe Toilets for Everyone Project)
(Mori)
I am Mori from Akashi City. Today, I would like to introduce the initiatives of Akashi City in Hyogo Prefecture, known for its sea bream and Akashiyaki. Our city advances its policies based on the Ordinance for Inclusive Community Development, which is founded on the principle of “leaving no one behind.” This ordinance also establishes an Inclusive Advisor System that emphasizes participation by people with lived experience.
The direct trigger for installing sanitary bins came from discussions within the Gender Equality Project Team, launched in 2021 as a cross-departmental initiative. This team was formed after reflecting on difficulties in decision-making during efforts to address menstrual poverty—difficulties caused by having too few women in managerial positions. To ensure diverse perspectives are represented in municipal administration, the team was created.
In its report, the team proposed that “regardless of gender, improvements and adjustments to facilities are needed so that parents raising children, people with disabilities, and others can go out without worry.” We considered improving restroom environments to be particularly important.
Since a full renovation of restrooms would be difficult to implement immediately due to cost, we began by examining the installation of items such as diaper disposal bins and sanitary bins. During the planning stage, we gathered opinions widely from parents raising children, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and others. In particular, some people with disabilities expressed concerns such as “unexpected objects in the restroom can be dangerous,” which taught us that even well-intentioned installations may unintentionally create inconvenience.
Additionally, a question raised in the September 2022 City Council meeting by one council member—encouraging us to promote the installation of sanitary bins—served as a major push toward making this initiative an official project.
The project has two main objectives: promoting gender equality throughout the city and creating an environment where everyone can go out with ease and peace of mind. We believed that it was important not only to install the sanitary bins, but also to ensure that many citizens—especially those who do not personally need them—understood what these bins are for.
To support this, we created a round awareness sticker featuring the city’s PR character, Papatako. The sticker includes specific messages such as:
“This bin is provided for people who use incontinence pads or adult diapers,” and
“Please do not dispose of cigarettes or other trash.”
These messages help inform the public of the bin’s purpose and prevent improper disposal of waste.
We began installation in August 2022, placing sanitary bins in 33 public facilities such as the city hall and libraries. At the city hall, we also added a sticker reading “Sanitary bin available” on the doors of the cubicles where bins were installed, so users could easily identify them.
After conducting a needs survey of large commercial facilities in the city, we launched a program in January 2023 to supply sanitary bins to such facilities. Because no major issues such as vandalism or hygiene problems were observed in these large facilities, we expanded support to smaller shops the following fiscal year.
Users have given us encouraging feedback that aligns exactly with what we had hoped for, such as:
“I use pads myself, and many people around me do as well. The sticker makes the purpose clear, and I think this is a very good initiative.”
and
“It’s not something that stands out, but it’s important, so I support the effort.”
Facilities where the bins have been installed have also reported:
“Usage is not high, but there is definite use,” and
“Sometimes general trash ends up in the bin, but it hasn’t caused any particular management problems.”
So far, no major issues have occurred that would lead us to discontinue the project.
Going forward, we plan to gather more detailed information on usage and continue raising awareness so that the initiative can expand to even more private-sector facilities.
Initiatives of Nagasaki City
(Takahashi)
Next, I would like to move on to the case of Nagasaki City in an interview format.
I understand that Nagasaki City installed sanitary bins in the new city hall building, which opened in January 2023. How is the installation going?
(Baba)
Yes, we installed sanitary bins in every cubicle of all men’s restrooms in the new city hall—both those used by the public and those used by staff. Every cubicle is equipped with one.
(Takahashi)
Installing them in all cubicles is quite forward-thinking. What prompted this decision?
(Takenaka)
At one point, a city council member raised the question, “Shouldn’t men’s restrooms also have sanitary bins?” When asked why, the council member said it was simply because “a supporter mentioned it, so I thought I’d bring it up.” Although it started as a casual comment, the story reached members of our group, the Toilet for Everyone Council, and the information was shared within city hall.
The timing was fortunate, as the new city hall building was being planned at that moment. In addition, we had built a trusting relationship with the city over 14 years of working together on proposals to improve toilets, and Mr. Tora from the JTA had had been raising national awareness of this issue. All of these factors helped the installation move forward very smoothly.
(Takahashi)
Were there any particular points you were careful about when choosing the sanitary bins?
(Baba)
Yes. When gathering opinions from city staff and disability organizations, many people said they “didn’t want to touch the lid with their hands,” so having a foot-pedal type was essential. We also knew that some users dispose of items such as self-catheterization equipment and diapers, so to accommodate a variety of needs, we installed larger-sized bins in every single cubicle.
(Takahashi)
Were there any objections when you decided to install the sanitary bins?
(Baba)
No, there were no objections at all. Through discussions with the members of the Toilet for Everyone Council, I myself came to understand the necessity, and when I consulted with the department responsible for maintenance, no one opposed the idea. The installation proceeded smoothly.
In fact, on the floors used by the public, we have found adult diapers disposed of in the bins, which shows that they are being used appropriately.
Q&A Session
(Takahashi)
We would now like to hear from Mr. A, who has been active as someone directly affected. Could you tell us about your own experience and the results of your survey?
(A)
After undergoing surgery for prostate cancer, I struggled with urinary leakage and have been using pads. Following the surgery, the hospital instructed me to always carry plastic bags for used pads and a small pouch to take them home.
Last year, I surveyed the toilets of all city halls in Aichi Prefecture. Of the 38 cities, 23—about 60%— had sanitary bins installed. However, it was disappointing that major municipalities such as Nagoya City Hall and the Aichi Prefectural Government Building did not have them.
At Toyota City Hall, the accessible toilets had a sign saying, “Please take used diapers home with you,” which felt extremely unkind from the perspective of someone who depends on these facilities.
What would be most helpful is the expansion of sanitary bins not only in city halls, but in places where people spend long periods in daily life—such as shopping centers and train stations.
(Takahashi)
I would also like to ask Mr. Yamamoto from NEXCO Central Japan. NEXCO is an abbreviation for Nippon Expressway Company. What are the current installation conditions and challenges at highway service areas?
(Mr. Yamamoto)
Although we have not yet implemented a company-wide rollout, each office has been moving forward with installation at its own discretion. However, a major challenge is that cleaning staff and others feel a sense of fear toward “unseen matters”—specifically, not knowing what will be thrown away and how. Women, to some extent, receive education on the basic rules for using sanitary bins, but men generally do not know how to dispose of such items. This leads to concerns that the bins may become unsanitary, or that hazardous items such as needles might be discarded, which becomes a barrier to introducing them.
To dispel these concerns, I believe it is important to share “reassurance materials”—evidence from earlier cases, including the issues encountered and the solutions adopted.
(Takahashi)
How about Akashi City—what are your thoughts on this “fear of the unseen”?
(Mori)
I do believe that such unseen fears certainly exist. In the case of Akashi City, we tried to address the facility operators’ concerns by taking a phased approach: first installing the bins on a trial basis for a short period, then deciding whether to continue based on the results. We also made it clear that, should any issues arise, the city government would take responsibility. This stance helped us stay close to the concerns of the people of facilities.
(T)
It is also important to make users aware that the bins are there. In one shopping mall, after installation, they started announcing it over the in-house broadcast, and usage increased as a result.
(A)
In my survey, I found that almost no foreign objects were thrown into sanitary bins. Rather, it was the wastebaskets in the washrooms that contained various items such as plastic bottles. When signage is provided, people recognize that the sanitary bin is not a general trash receptacle. Seeing a sanitary bin installed makes me feel that “this is a place that is comforting for people,” and it gives me a sense of happiness.
(Takahashi)
Thank you very much. By addressing these invisible concerns one by one, the Japan Toilet Association hopes to continue promoting these efforts so that everyone can feel safe and comfortable going out.
