Photo/Illutration Women form a long line for a public restroom at the metropolitan Yoyogi Park in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on April 12. (Tomoko Yamashita)

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to make a serious effort to solve the problem of women constantly facing long lines for public restrooms due to a lack of facilities.

The central government’s “basic policies for economic and fiscal management and reform,” approved by the Cabinet in June, clearly states the need to improve the circumstances surrounding women's restrooms.

Aiming to eliminate gender-based inequity in restroom issues is one of Ishiba's key measures.

A liaison meeting of related ministries and agencies was held on July 9 where it was decided to issue a notice to organizers of large-scale events requesting that they ensure there are sufficient temporary bathrooms for women. 

Unlike men's restrooms that rarely see crowding, it is typical for women to expect a line for the women's restroom when going out for the day. 

According to Manami Momose, the total number of male toilets, including urinals, at 907 locations nationwide as of June 22 was 1.73 times that of toilets in women's restrooms. Locations tallied included train stations and commercial facilities. 

Momose is an administrative scrivener who embarked on a project to determine the number of public toilets and urinals by gender after being stuck in line many times. 

On the other hand, the number of women's toilets exceeded that of men's toilets at only 46 locations. 

Ishiba's thinking on the issue is based on the “Sphere Standards” established by the International Red Cross and other organizations for disaster shelters, according to officials. 

It is estimated that women require three times the amount of time men need in a restroom, and the Sphere Standards specifies the minimum number of toilets required in a disaster as 1:3 for men and women.

If this were applied to public and commercial facilities in Japan, the number of women's toilets nationwide would need to be greatly increased from the current amount. 

According to government officials, Ishiba’s attention to the issue was piqued when Takanori Yokosawa, an Upper House lawmaker of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, raised it during a meeting of the Upper House Committee on Audit on June 9.

Learning that the government had no measures to deal with the problem, the prime minister began to talk to those around him, asking if something could be done. 

Definitively bringing about a significant increase in the number of women's toilets is not likely to happen overnight, however.

The transport ministry, which has jurisdiction over restrooms at train stations and airports, is not aware of the actual number of men's and women's toilets, according to a ministry official, and specific measures for their maintenance are still under consideration.

The ministries and agencies that have jurisdiction over toilets vary depending on their location. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a cross-governmental system.

A senior government official said, “A large amount of budgetary support, including subsidies for maintenance costs, will be necessary.” 

(This article was written by Tatsuya Harada and Kei Kobayashi.)

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