One in three boys and nearly one in five girls in elementary school can't use the Japanese-style squat toilets commonly found in schools, according to a survey by the nonprofit organization Japan Toilet Labo. It also revealed a correlation between holding poop at school and childhood constipation.
The survey, which was conducted online on November 9 and 10, was conducted and received responses from 1,000 families.
The results showed that 26.7% of the children said they could not use Japanese toilets. By gender, 33.4% of boys and 18.9% of girls said they could not use them. The percentage of boys and girls who answered they can use Japanese toilets, although it's uncomfortable, was 47.1% and 55.3% respectively, indicating that even children able to use Japanese toilets dislike them. The ratio of people who said they used them without discomfort was only 19.5% for boys and 25.8% for girls.
The survey found that 9.9% of the children covered were constipated and 10.2% were pre-constipated, which is more than 20% of the total.
The Tokyo-based NPO defined constipation as having two or more or more and pre-constipation as having one of the following: defecating twice or less a week, stool leakage discharge seen on underwear having to hold in poop, hard stool, painful bowel movements, bleeding or excretions large enough to clog the toilet.
The survey showed a correlation between holding poop and constipation. 4.7% of children were not constipated and 33.1% sometimes held it in during school, together accounting for less than 40% of the total in this group. 38.4% of children were often constipated, while 43.4% held it in school.
To a multiple-answer question about the reasons for not using squat toilets, the children's most common response was, I don't want my friends to know at 26.5%. I feel uncomfortable at 22.2%, I can't finish in time for recess at 22%, My friends make fun of me at 15%, the toilets are dirty at 12.9%, the toilets smell at 10.5%, and the Japanese toilets are difficult to use at 9.1%.
Atsushi Kato, 50, chairperson of Japan Toilet Labo, pointed out that adults need to think of ways to prevent children from holding in their poop. Referring to common survey responses, such as not wanting friends to know and feeling uncomfortable, he said, There is a problem with the schools' toilet environment in the first place. Most elementary school students today use Western-style toilets at home, according to Kato. A September 2020 survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology found that only 57% of the toilets in the nationwide elementary and junior high schools were Western-style - up 13.7 percentage points from the 2016 survey, but still means that over 40% of school toilets are Japanese-style.
Kato explained that the difference between the toilets at home and school can be stressful for children.
Schools are aware that it is important to increase the number of Western-style toilets. According to a 2020 survey by the education ministry, almost 90% of the schools in Japan plan to install more Western-style toilets than Japanese-style ones. The ministry is promoting the adoption of Western-style toilets by providing up to 70 million yen for a single year for toilet replacement work.