Need a pee? Japan has QR code for that / Photo: Yuichi YAMAZAKI - AFP
-
Townsend urges Scotland to use Nations Championship as World Cup springboard
-
Brazil markets battered, tech in focus elsewhere
-
Microsoft offers voluntary exit packages to 60,000 staff
-
French court adjourns trial over 2020 death of delivery driver
-
S.Africa ambassador calls for talks with US over 'tense' ties
-
Serbian student movement eyes power after election triumph
-
'Smells of freedom': Serbians hopeful after landmark election
-
Machado ready to meet Venezuela leader after shock return
-
South Africa select 'enforcer' Coetzee for Australia decider
-
Lula celebrates election win as Brazil markets tumble
-
Botanists comb Gabon's rich rainforests with nature on the line
-
France's Macron accuses social media of sowing discord ahead of election
-
New levy on non-EU parcels kicks in Sunday
-
Anthropic unveils IPO filing showing soaring sales and AI risks
-
Stocks climb ahead of tech earnings, central bank calls
-
US singer Chris Brown avoids jail over London nightclub brawl
-
Part of London's Oxford Street pedestrianised 'forever'
-
US singer Chris Brown avoids jail over UK nightclub brawl
-
Canadian youth seek climate action in landmark trial
-
Man Utd crisis deepens as Carrick faces axe
-
Trump blasts Norway over Nobel Peace Prize snub
-
Serbian student movement eyes power after resounding snap poll victory
-
Japan PM vows swift response to wave of cyberattacks
-
Eala breezes past world number 411 in Tokyo opener
-
Stocks mostly rise before tech earnings, central bank calls
-
Swedish Centre Party leader says government coalition talks failed
-
France's Macron to visit Marseille after protest violence
-
Barca's big-game defeats pose familiar questions
-
German union slams Audi boss's appearance at Trump rally
-
Russia says open to mini Ukraine ceasefires, but no let up in war
-
UK set for 'limited' budget giveaways as borrowing costs surge
-
Bangladesh measles crisis 'warning sign' of other outbreaks: report
-
Anthropic's AI model accessed US voter data: Axios
-
'Historic victory': World leaders celebrate Lula's re-election
-
Malaysia's Johor reopens schools as haze eases
-
Stock markets mixed ahead of tech earnings, central bank decisions
-
Carragher says Fernandes benching was intended as public punishment
-
Mother renews anti-bullying appeal a decade after son’s death
-
Canada-EU summit seeks deepened alliance as US ties fray
-
'Historic victory': Leftist leaders in the Americas celebrate Lula's re-election
-
Senegal to host Youth Games, Africa's first ever Olympics
-
African players in Europe: Jackson brace ends City's perfect record
-
ITV drama Adultery examines temptation, class and family consequences
-
Argentine police arrest stepfather after pregnant 10-year-old reaches hospital
-
New levy on non-EU parcels kicks in November 1
-
Mother dies after rescuing sons from riptide in the Bahamas
-
Saudi coalition says struck Houthi missile facilities after Riyadh airport attack
-
James Blunt reportedly sought extra underwear during Celebrity Traitors filming
-
Manchester United stand-in captain calls for change after Bournemouth loss
-
Trump says Canada trade deal coming 'soon'
Need a pee? Japan has QR code for that
Japanese toilet giant TOTO has launched a service allowing those caught short in public to locate the nearest washrooms and see how busy they are real-time with a phone and QR code.
Japan like other countries struggles with managing long queues outside public toilets, particularly for women, in its teeming train stations and other places.
The system launched this month by TOTO -- famous for its water-spraying, musical toilets -- links consumers up with existing internet-connected facility management systems.
This was developed to automatically notify facility staff if a particular cubicle is dirty or occupied for an unusually long time.
Now users can scan a QR code with their phones to access a website showing restroom locations and live congestion levels.
"In addition, a QR code inside a restroom stall brings you to a website where a user can report problems, like being unable to flush or something broken," TOTO spokesman Tasuku Miyazaki told AFP on Thursday.
The service is multi-lingual and available in English, Chinese and Korean.
The government is also trying to relieve the problem of long queues for women, with the transport ministry seeking extra funds in the budget for the coming fiscal next year.
These will be used to set up digital signage displays and movable toilet walls that can increase the number of stalls for women, according to local media.
Ch.P.Lewis--AT