A 'Princess' in every toilet

Source: news.com.au - Tokyo correspondents

When Naoko Ito uses a public bathroom, she cringes in embarrassment at the thought that other patrons can hear the sounds coming from her stall. That's when she turns to the Sound Princess. Ito, like a rapidly growing number of Japanese women, presses a device installed in public toilets to simulate the sound of water flushing - and mask the cruder noises of nature. "I usually use the flushing sound when I go to a public bathroom, such as at a department store, because I get a bit self-conscious," said Ito, a 60-year-old waitress. The device - a curious mix of Japanese bashfulness and modern technology - is spreading rapidly through public buildings and has now become standard equipment for new constructions. Leading toilet producer Toto Ltd has sold 500,000 of their Sound Princess - Oto-Hime in Japanese - since 1988, and the company says orders surged 125 per cent in 2003 alone. "The core of our clientele is schools and companies," Toto spokeswoman Kumi Goto said. "Japanese women are very embarrassed by the sounds they make in a toilet."

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