Japanese officials red-faced as hi-tech public toilets malfunction, exposing users

Users of state-of-the-art public toilets in central Tokyo have been caught with their trousers down after the technology designed to "frost" the see-through glass walls when the door is locked malfunctioned.

The public toilets, located in two parks in the Shibuya district, each comprise three glass cubes that use "smart glass" to instantly turn opaque once the door is locked from the inside.

The glass is designed to return to being transparent once the door is unlocked, but city authorities were summoned when it was reported that the glass panels were not functioning. Officials have blamed the failure on recent cold weather causing particles within the glass to harden and delaying the frosting effect.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

The problem has left Shibuya ward officials red-faced.

The two toilets were designed by Shigeru Ban, winner of the 2014 Pritzker Prize for architecture, and opened to the public in July 2020 as part of Shibuya's efforts to replace old and unpleasant facilities with modern conveniences.

Part of The Tokyo Toilet project, organised in conjunction with The Nippon Foundation, the public and media were intrigued by the facilities and Ban's thinking behind the design.

Outlining his concept on the foundation's website, Ban identified two concerns with public toilets, especially those in parks.

"The first is whether it is clean inside and the second is that no one is secretly waiting inside," he said. "Using a new technology, we made the outer walls with glass that becomes opaque when the lock is closed, so that a person can see inside before entering.

"And at night, they light up the parks like a beautiful lantern," he added.

In a statement, Shibuya ward said officials had found a way to make the glass permanently opaque but that experts are looking into a solution that would allow the toilets to function as Ban planned.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.