Japan: the land of a thousand conveniences

Puzzled by Watanabe's statement, "people cannot do what they want." After living in Japan 10 yrs I felt prerty free to do as I wished, within the bounds of civility and reason. In the US, I am not as free to express myself for fear of being attacked by extremists, and as a white male, I srill worry about police with nervous trigger fingers. There is something to be said for the so-called "homogenous" society, and it is better to "assimilate" than "celebrate your individuality" for sure, but all on balance, I think Japan is perhaps more "free" than most, if not all countries.

Many public toilets (spotlessly clean, of course) have infant seats inside the stall.

And some have squatters, not very clean, no soap and no towels or way to dry your hand.

Not acceptable in a first world country.

With squatters, no part of the body comes in contact with public toilet seats. The position also better smoothes the waste removal process by its posture.

With squatters, no part of the body comes in contact with public toilet seats. The position also better smoothes the waste removal process by its posture.

Smoothes the waste removal? Har.