SUMOTO, Hyogo: More and more local governments in Japan are introducing vehicles equipped with toilet facilities to be used in evacuation centres during disasters.
The vehicles attracted attention in the wake of the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake. Despite the disaster, the technology, equipped with air-conditioning, heaters and heated toilet seats, ensured a comfortable restroom environment.
As at November 2024, only 37 such vehicles had been acquired by local governments across the country, according to a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office.
The central government began subsidising half of the vehicles’ installation costs in November 2024, which accelerated adoption, with 108 municipalities receiving subsidies for a total of 231 units in fiscal year 2024.
According to toilet vehicle manufacturer Montelion, annual orders surged in fiscal year 2025 – from just a few units to about 250 units in around 150 municipalities.
The company, which is based in Kurate, Fukuoka prefecture, is increasing its staff and building new factories to cope with the surge in orders, a company official said.
In preparation for a possible Nankai Trough earthquake, the city of Minami-Awaji in Hyogo prefecture was quick to acquire a toilet vehicle, purchasing a unit in November 2020 for about 15.8 million yen (S$130,000).
The vehicle is equipped with two men’s toilets and two women’s toilets, as well as one for people with particular needs. It was dispatched for about five months to the areas affected by the Noto earthquake.
Municipal governments with toilet vehicles have signed an agreement to dispatch them to one another when a disaster strikes.
Minami-Awaji signed the agreement with Uwajima in Ehime prefecture and Shimabara in Nagasaki prefecture in 2023. The agreement has now been expanded to include nine municipalities in seven prefectures, including Katano, Osaka prefecture; and Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture.
Matsuyama city, which acquired three toilet vehicles for 33 million yen in total in October, is scheduled to join the agreement by the end of March.
According to a survey by Japan Toilet Labo, a non-profit organisation based in Tokyo, when the Noto earthquake hit, nearly 90 per cent of people needed to go to the toilet within six hours. However, only one of 10 evacuation centres surveyed had temporary toilets completed within three days, Japan Toilet Labo said.
It is essential to build toilets quickly in the event of a disaster. Water outages continued in many areas after the earthquake. As a result, toilets at evacuations centres could not be flushed.
“Some people ended up cutting back on their fluid intake in an attempt to reduce frequency of going to the toilet, which caused them to suffer from constipation,” said Japan Toilet Labo representative director Atsushi Kato, who visited the disaster area.
Reducing water intake increases the risk of myocardial infarction and, in a worst-case scenario, is believed to increase the risk of disaster-related death.
In the two months immediately following the Noto earthquake, around 15 toilet vehicles were sent to affected areas where roads were still intact. The vehicles gained popularity because they were clean and comfortable.
With the high cost of acquiring the vehicles, one task is to find ways to utilise them during normal times.
Many municipalities are using the vehicles at disaster preparedness-awareness events for residents and other events.
In September, a multipurpose toilet vehicle was acquired by the Anan city government in Tokushima prefecture. The vehicle can also be used to transport people and supplies, even during normal times.
Nevertheless, toilet vehicles alone will not be enough to meet the needs of evacuees.
“It’s important to gradually put into place a system where toilet vehicles can be used in combination with temporary and portable toilets,” Kato said. - The Japan News/ANN
