News On Japan

Tokyo's Koto Ward to Distribute Emergency Toilets to All Residents

TOKYO - Tokyo's Koto Ward will distribute portable emergency toilets to all residents to help households prepare for disasters and prevent health problems when regular sanitation systems become unusable.

Koto Mayor Tomoka Okubo displayed the planned emergency toilet kit at a regular news conference on July 8 and urged residents to reassess their disaster preparedness. "I hope the portable toilets will encourage each household to think again about how it is preparing for disasters," she said.

Each package will contain 15 portable toilets in three varieties, including types that use solidifying agents and absorbent sheets. Residents will also receive a guidebook explaining how to respond to toilet problems during a disaster and how to use the portable products.

Household toilets may become unusable during disasters because of water outages or damage to drainage systems. The ward is encouraging residents to try one of the portable toilets in advance as a form of emergency training.

The distribution is also intended to prevent disaster-related health problems. In some affected areas, evacuees have reduced their fluid intake to avoid going to the toilet, resulting in cases of chronic dehydration.

Koto Ward plans to begin delivering the kits to residents in mid-August.

Source: TOKYO MX NEWS

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

A bill to revise the Imperial House Law was approved by an Upper House special committee on July 16, paving the way for its expected enactment on July 17.

Severe heat is forecast across much of Japan on July 16, with temperatures reaching 37 degrees Celsius in Nagoya and Kofu and sudden thunderstorms threatening the Kanto-Koshin and Tohoku regions through late at night.

Tobu Railway has introduced walk-through facial recognition ticket gates at Ikebukuro and Kami-Itabashi stations on the Tobu Tojo Line, allowing registered commuters to enter without presenting a ticket or IC card.

A system failure at frozen food giant Nichirei has disrupted shipments and logistics, raising the risk of product shortages and temporary closures at some Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants while also affecting major supermarket and retail chains.

Officials from the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party have agreed to adopt the Katsuragawa plan for the Obama-Kyoto route of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture to Shin-Osaka.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Politics NEWS

Tokyo's Koto Ward will distribute portable emergency toilets to all residents to help households prepare for disasters and prevent health problems when regular sanitation systems become unusable.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi entered the final stretch of the Diet session on July 16 facing a concentrated test of her leadership, with Imperial House legislation moving through upper house deliberations, opposition parties preparing for intensive questioning, and bond-market pressure continuing to complicate the government’s growth strategy.

Japan has become an unexpected base of operations for Russian intelligence agents since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with spies allegedly using the country to procure and smuggle high-tech equipment and other goods to Russia, The New York Times reported on July 12.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi moved to contain political pressure on July 14 by confirming that she will attend intensive Budget Committee deliberations later this week, as the final days of the Diet session turned into a test of her parliamentary management, economic policy credibility and conservative legislative agenda.

The Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly is facing mounting scrutiny over its use of public funds after revelations that assembly members spent about 45 million yen in one year on overseas inspection trips, including a Hawaii visit that cost nearly 12 million yen for four members.

Neyagawa in Osaka Prefecture has approved Japan's first citywide tax on vacant homes, imposing a new municipal levy at a rate of 35% on owners in addition to existing fixed-asset taxes from fiscal 2029.

Taro Yamamoto, leader of Reiwa Shinsengumi, announced on July 10 that he will resign as party leader and retire from politics, citing both a speeding violation that resulted in criminal penalties and ongoing health problems.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s economic strategy came under renewed scrutiny on July 8 as the government considered softening language in its long-term policy blueprint that had raised concerns over political pressure on the Bank of Japan, while the administration continued to face Diet tensions over its legislative agenda before the current session ends next week.