Ginza shoppers clean hands, phones with high-tech wash stations

A shopper washes her hands using a mobile handwashing machine called 'WOSH', installed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, Japan December 19, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - Shoppers washed their hands and sterilised their smartphones in the streets of Tokyo's posh Ginza district on Saturday using handwashing stations that a Japanese start-up hopes will revolutionise access to clean water and better hygiene.

WOTA Corp set up 20 of its WOSH machines near popular Ginza stores in an initiative with a district association aimed at encouraging shoppers to wash their hands to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.