COVER STORY: The Way of Cool
Caption: Visitors line up outside the Japan Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai.
Credit: XINHUA/AFLO
The Way of Cool
The world’s best restroom at the Japan Industry Pavilion in the Shanghai Expo.
Credit: COURTESY OF INAX
At the Shanghai Expo underway since May 2010, the installation of the world’s best restroom in the Japan Industry Pavilion has become a talking point. The world’s best restroom is the most hygienic and best-equipped toilet in the world, aiming “to interweave advanced technologies with the spirit of hospitality for the most comfortable restroom in the world.” Resembling a sofa for relaxed lounging, the toilet is installed in an immaculate space reminiscent of a drawing room. It also features all the functions that the Japanese take for granted: automatic opening and closing of the lid, automatic flushing, warm water bidet, heated toilet seat and a sound masking device that plays jazz or classical music. The latest models of water-saving toilets in Japan have succeeded in cutting water consumption by approximately 40% per year compared to models from the 1990s. This can be attributed to the attention to detail and the meticulous approach to problemsolving in Japanese craftsmanship that makes it possible to produce cameras, cars and electrical appliances. One might also say that this approach is associated with the manga and anime that are so popular around the world.
Cosplay enthusiasts from Germany pose at the Japan Expo in Paris, July 4, 2010
Credit: REUTERS/AFLO
In June this year, the government established the Creative Industries Promotion Office at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to plan and implement inter-ministerial measures to promote the cultural industries abroad, disseminate information in Japan and abroad, and develop human resources. Tetsuya Watanabe, director of the Creative Industries Promotion Office, comments, “The Japan Expo, which is an event that introduces Japanese pop culture, is held in Paris, France, July every year (this year for the eleventh time), and attracted about 170,000 visitors over a period of four days last year. There are still many cool things in Japan that the world doesn’t know about. From now on, we want to introduce these things all over the world.”
