A total of 28 municipalities and businesses have received the government's first toilet awards for promoting clean, safe and comfortable public lavatories while also improving women's lives through better sanitation.
"Although there are diverse policies relating to food, we have few opportunities to discuss the issue of defecation, which is one of the most fundamental actions in our lives," Haruko Arimura, minister in charge of women's empowerment, said Friday during the award ceremony in Tokyo.
The recipients for Toilet Awards Japan, launched earlier this year, were selected from among 378 applicants by six ministries.