July 18, 2025

The government has recently confirmed that it will review the standards for the number of restrooms installed at train stations, airports, and other public and commercial facilities in order to address the issue of long waiting lines for women’s restrooms.

Japanese Communist Party member of the Upper House Inoue Satoshi repeatedly raised this issue in the Diet, demanding that the government eliminate the gender disparity in the number of public restrooms available.

In regard to outdoor events, the government has issued a notice requiring event organizers to ensure a sufficient number of temporary toilets for women at fireworks displays and other festivals.

In fact, the number of women’s bathrooms in public spaces is fewer than men’s, even though women take longer when using them, causing long queues for ladies’ rooms.

The first time Inoue took up this issue was in May 2023 at a House of Councilors Cabinet Committee meeting. He in 2024 demanded that temporary toilets at evacuation shelters after the Noto Peninsula earthquake be improved. In response, the government revised its guidelines on shelter operations and specified that the restroom ratio at shelters should be 1:3 for men and women.

In April of this year, Inoue pointed out that the standards set for evacuation centers should also be met in people’s everyday life, and demanded that the government take advantage of occasions for new construction and renovation of public facilities to improve the male-to-female ratio of toilets. In June, he called for additional women’s restrooms at schools that are designated to serve as evacuation centers in the event of a disaster.