Here's an illuminating little tale: In the early years of the Meiji Era (1868-1912), a Japanese official was sent to France to study the police system (which, incidentally, was replicated here). Traveling across the Paris suburbs in a crowded train one summer afternoon, the official was assailed by acute stomach pains, which could only be relieved by going to the men's room. The train car, however, was packed, and even getting up from his seat proved very difficult.
The official took the only way out he could think of. He unfolded his copy of the French newspaper Le Figaro on the floor, quickly did his business on it, folded up the incriminating evidence and lobbed it out the window. Unfortunately, the bundle struck a railway employee working beside the tracks. The next day Le Figaro included an item about the incident, citing it as an example of the sheer rudeness and backwardness of "Orientals" in general — and the Japanese in particular.
When the news reached Japan, the Meiji government was mortified and public lavatories were soon installed in every train station in Japan, no matter how remote. Back in France, the official reportedly said: "Hokani tedatega arutodemo? (他に手だてがあるとでも, What else was I supposed to do?")