People using high-tech public toilets in Tokyo have been caught with their trousers down! The technology designed to "frost" the see-through glass walls when the door is locked has stopped working.
The public toilets, located in two parks in Shibuya district, each have three glass cubes. They use special "smart glass" to instantly turn opaque when the door is locked from the inside.
The glass is designed to return to being transparent once the door is unlocked, but city authorities were called when it was found that the glass panels were not working.
Officials blamed the problem on recent cold weather. They say it caused particles within the glass to harden and slow down the frosting effect.
The problem has left Shibuya district officials red-faced with embarrassment.
The two toilets were designed by architect Shigeru Ban, the winner of a prize for building designs. They opened in July 2020 as part of Shibuya's efforts to replace old and unpleasant toilets with modern ones.
Local people were intrigued by the toilet and Shigeru's idea behind the design.
Explaining his idea, Shigeru lists two concerns with public toilets, especially those in parks.
"The first is whether it is clean inside, and the second is that no one is already inside," he says. "Using a new technology, we made the outer walls with glass that becomes opaque when the lock is closed, so that a person can see inside before entering.
"And at night, they light up the park like a beautiful lantern," he says.
Shibuya District officials say they have found a way to make the glass permanently opaque, but experts are looking into a solution that would allow the toilets to work as Shigeru planned.
Five things to know about
1. Japan is in northeast Asia. It is an nation of islands, surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east.
2. In fact, it has 6,852 islands! The largest island is Honshu. That is where you can find Tokyo, the capital city, with 14 million people.
3. Japan sits on the "Pacific Ring of Fire", so it has many volcanoes and earthquakes. Sometimes, earthquakes out at sea can cause tsunamis.
4. Ancient warriors of Japan were called Samurai. They were skilled swordsmen. Japan is home to many different martial arts, like karate, judo, jujutsu and aikido.
5. Japanese cuisine is popular around the world. Its well-known dishes include sushi, sashimi and tempura.
