Toilet Habits: Japanese Men Prefer to Sit When at Home

A survey in Japan conducted by a research team at the Japanese Continence Society has revealed that 70% of men in their twenties and 50% in in their fifties sit down to urinate at home.

Held between May and June, 2023, the survey asked 6,210 people aged 20 and over about urinary health and other matters. This garnered responses from 2,936 men regarding their posture while urinating. Among men in their twenties and thirties, 69% and 66%, respectively, said that they preferred to sit. While that percentage fell with age, more than half of those in their fifties and sixties also urinated while sitting. Overall, 56% of men preferred this posture.

The society made the assumption that men with urinary disorders might be more likely to choose a sitting position, but statistically no significant difference was seen. Instead, marital status was a major influencing factor.

Among those in their twenties and thirties, 75% of married men preferred to sit, which was 13 percentage points higher than the 62% of single men who sat. The gap was also more than 10 points higher for married men aged in their forties to fifties and their sixties to nineties when it came to choosing to sit. The research team suggested that “the connection between being married and urinary posture is probably mainly due to consideration of hygiene in and around the toilet, such as trying to avoid getting the walls and floor dirty.”

While few academic papers have been published on the subject of urinary posture, information available online showed that Japan and Germany were almost on a par when it came to a preference for sitting.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)