Japan's Daito Trust Construction will gradually introduce to construction sites across the country separate portable restrooms for men and women and larger unisex ones, sources said Tuesday.
As Japanese-style unisex toilets are mostly used at construction sites currently, the company is aiming to create a more comfortable sanitary environment amid a labor shortage and 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 ($660,000) to ¥200 million.
The company will install Western-style flush toilets in 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 up to twice as spacious as current facilities and have antibacterial and deodorizing coatings applied to their walls.
Some 3,300 female construction workers were active at construction sites operated by the company, including staff employed by its partner firms, as of April. The number of female workers is now 15 times what it was in 2016, but women still account for a mere 1.5% of 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.
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