Japanese toilet industry agrees to standardise bidet control pictograms on toilets

In a landmark decision announced in Tokyo yesterday the Japan Sanitary Equipment Industry Association – a consortium of nine major plumbing manufacturers that includes Toto, Panasonic and Toshiba – agreed to standardise the iconography used on control panels for toilets.

The decision has been made to ensure that “anyone can use the toilet environment with confidence” particularly with regard to the “rapidly increasing number of foreign tourists visiting Japan.”

The pictograms cover operations such as lid opening/closing, seat opening/closing, bowl washing (large), bowl washing (small), clean, drying and stop.

The icons were decided upon following a survey and working group that canvassed opinion from 600 Japanese and international participants. The most common responses to the survey were “I did not know how to use the toilet” and “I did not understand the role of various operations.”

The standardised icons will be rolled out this year.