Japan's hi-tech toilets

RG, These are not "new" in Japan. We have used them while on vacation there about seven-eight years ago, and they are great! Heated seats, and you can get washed while still seated! You can also control the temps of the seat and water.

I wonder if I could rig one of those up in my outhouse...

Sure, but you'd have to run some electricity and water to it. LOL

"New" is relative. For a cultural phenomenon they are fairly new. I grew up (at least in part) in Japan and they were still predominantly using different toilets. I preferred western toilets and wouldn't use the traditional Japanese ones.

There were already a lot of western toilets, and there were already things like heated toilet seats but the wholesale transition to western toilets with gadgets as a cultural phenomenon is not the same as a new gadget coming out.

Do you know of any other countries that have had such changes in the way they use the bathroom within the last decade?

Mr. B and I were in a fancy hardware store not long ago and they had a $6,000.00 toilet. Yes. $6,000.00.

I told Mr. B I'd need a $40,000.00 stove and a personal chef to manufacture poop worthy of a $6,000.00 toilet.

My guess would be South Korea.

Itsa good thing my monitor was due for a screen cleaning, Boom...

At least the stove and the poop can has something in common. LOL

Here's a somewhat related thread about a japanese hotel (Peninsula) and its 'smart design', though in that case the key design is not by a japanese person.
http://able2know.org/topic/110304-1

Interesting toilet. The US in general hasn't learned to love bidets.. over many decades.