Totally Lost In Translation
The persistent COVID-19 pandemic is seeing seven in 10 Japanese men urinate while seated on toilets instead of when standing-up.
This habit is triggered by more men teleworking from home, said a poll by Panasonic Corporation. It's also being caused by a desire among men, especially fathers, to avoid soiling their toilet seats and floors with urine stains.
"There seems to be a growing desire to keep toilets clean, since they've started to use them more often," said a Panasonic official about the poll findings.
Asked if there have been any changes as to how they pee at home, 11% of the responding men said they now sit down while doing it. On the other hand, 58% said the already urinate while sitting down and their behavior hadn't changed.
The combined percentages mean close to 70% of Japanese men now sit when they pee compared to 51% in a survey conducted in 2015.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents said the increased time they spend at home with their families due to the pandemic has led to their using their home toilets more than ever before. Some 40% of the men said they now have to clean their toilets more often.
Men urinating while seated also became an issue in the Republic of China (Taiwan) when it became a topic of public interest eight years ago.
Stephen Shen, the former Environmental Protection Administration (Environmental Protection Agency) minister, said Taiwanese men sitting down while urinating like women do creates a cleaner environment.
Local news media said Taiwanese men objected to the idea because it will be hard to stop doing what they've been doing all their lives. Environmental Protection Agency officials, however, insisted sitting down to pee can be done.
"We want to learn from Japan and Sweden," said Yuan Shaw-jing, Environmental Protection Agency director general of environmental sanitation and toxic substance maintenance.
"In Japan, we heard 30% of the men sit," he said.
There is clinical evidence suggesting peeing while seated is healthier than doing so upright.
Research from the Leiden University Medical Centre in The Netherlands, found sitting down to pee allows for "a more favorable urodynamic profile" (meaning the flow stream is stronger), which helps ward-off prostate problems.
The study also suggests that when men stand, they activate muscles around their lower abdomen, pelvis and spine that actually prevent proper urination.
"Sitting down is a better option for men with prostate conditions or men who just can't stand up for a long time," said Dr. Jesse Mills, Associate Clinical professor at the UCLA department of urology.
"A lot of guys sit to pee if they can't fully evacuate their bladder. When you sit down, you can use your abdominal muscles more, and you get your last few squirts out and feel like you've emptied better."
