Japan’s smart toilets in hot seat as ageing units pose fire and burn risks, report warns

Users have sustained serious burns from seats that have overheated on older models that incorporate a bidet function, while others have been scalded by hot water escaping from damaged units, NITE said in a statement. Others reported being affected by smoke when plastic components in the devices caught fire.

“All electrical appliances have a lifespan,” the government agency said in the statement released to This Week in Asia. “In order to continue using an electric toilet comfortably, it is important to recognise that these seats are electrical appliances and to take note of malfunctions or abnormalities in products that have been used for many years by checking them daily.

“In a worst-case scenario, leaving malfunctions or abnormalities unattended can lead to fires,” it added.

The first toilet seats with a built-in bidet were released in 1967 and very quickly caught on in a nation where personal cleanliness is considered of paramount importance. By 2016, 80 per cent of all homes and businesses in the country had a “smart toilet”, with current estimates suggesting virtually every household now has one.