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Do men in Japan stand or sit to urinate?

Oona McGee Jan 12, 2022
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Survey reveals some surprising discoveries about men’s toilet habits.

Once upon a time, back in June last year, a woman in her 60s from Nagaoka City in Niigata Prefecture sent a comment off to the Niigata Nippo news site, asking them, “Is there a way to revamp the practice of men standing to pee?”

That thought sent the gears in motion over at Lion, one of Japan’s premier toilet cleaner manufacturers, who decided to assess men’s peeing habits for Western-style toilets with an Internet survey of 1,500 men aged from their 20s to 60s.

What they discovered was that 39.1 percent of the respondents said they urinate while standing when using a Western-style toilet, and 60.9 percent said they sit and urinate.

In addition, 49 percent of those who sit to pee say they changed over from standing to sitting, which means that for almost half of the sitters, it was a new practice that they’d now become accustomed to.

▼ That also means 11.9 percent of respondents have been sitting to pee all their lives.

For those who made the switch from standing to sitting, the top reasons given for the change were:

“I saw my urine splatters made the toilet dirty.” (37.3 percent)

“I began to think about the feelings of the person who cleans the toilet.” (27.9 percent)

“I saw images on the TV/Internet that showed how peeing while standing can make the toilet dirty.” (22.6 percent)

“Because I began cleaning the toilet myself.” (19.3 percent)

“I was prompted to sit by someone close to me.” (16.6 percent)

“I saw a research video on urine splatters on the TV/Internet.” (16.6 percent)

▼ We’re not sure who’s watching research videos on urine splatters, but hey — the algorithm’s a mysterious thing.

Another interesting insight gleaned from the survey was the fact that it’s the younger generation that tends to sit, while the older generation prefer to stand while micturating.

Amongst those who’ve been sitting to pee, 25.7 percent of people in their 20s and 17.7 percent of those in their 30s have been doing it since childhood. However, that number dropped dramatically in the 40-60 age group, with only 10 percent saying they sit, and not necessarily since childhood.

According to Lion, these results suggest that young people are now being taught to avoid dirtying the toilet from childhood, but middle-aged and older people only get into the habit of sitting down later in life.

Many elderly people who’ve grown up with urinals, even in the family home, are reluctant to sit, with one man in his 70s remarking that he would feel “pathetic” if he sat, as standing to pee is a man’s domain. Another man in his 70s said he sits to pee at his son’s house, after his wife asked him to, but otherwise he prefers to stand as it gives him a feeling of “liberation”.

Upon asking the standing stalwarts if they would ever consider sitting down to pee, the survey revealed a surprising 56.8 percent said they wouldn’t mind changing their ways. Only 28.7 said they would prefer not to sit if possible, while an even smaller 14.5 percent were adamant against changing.

▼ Hmmm…this sitting idea might not be bad after all.

This trend towards sitting to pee is reflected in the diminishing demand for home urinals in Japan, which were once quite popular. Toilet manufacturer Toto says over 90 percent of their orders are now for Western-style toilets.

With well over half of the respondents saying they sit to pee, more than half of the standing proponents willing to change their ways, and more parents encouraging their children to avoid creating a mess in and around the toilet, it looks like sitting to pee is well on its way to becoming the — excuse the pun — mainstream in Japan.

Source: Lion via Niigata Nippo via Fukui Shimbun via Hachima Kikou
Featured image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Lion, Pakutaso (1, 2)
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