EXCLUSIVE: Daito Trust to Improve Toilets at Construction Sites

Tokyo, Oct. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Daito Trust Construction Co. will gradually introduce to construction sites across the country separate portable restrooms for men and women and larger unisex ones, Jiji Press learned Tuesday. As Japanese-style unisex toilets are mostly used at construction sites, the company aims to create a more comfortable sanitary environment amid a labor shortage, hoping to increase the female employment rate. Daito Trust Construction plans to start installing and renting such restrooms at new construction sites this month at an annual cost of 100 million to 200 million yen. The company will install Western-style flush toilets at separate lavatories for men and women and at unisex restrooms. Separate lavatories will be equipped with double locks and a function to prevent odor backflows. Unisex lavatories will be 1.2- to 2.0-fold more spacious than current ones and have antibacterial and deodorizing coatings applied to their walls. Some 3,300 female construction workers were active at construction sites of the company, including those employed by its partner firms, as of April. The number has grown 15-fold from that in 2016, while women account for a mere 1.5 pct of the construction staff. The company said some female workers refrain from using current temporary toilets due to worries about privacy and hygiene. “We aim to realize a construction industry in which diverse human resources can play active roles, by creating a pleasant working environment,” an official said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]