Japan: Students think outside the bowl with designs for emergency toilets

A pair of high school students from Tokushima Prefecture have developed a cardboard Western-style sit-down toilet to help disabled or elderly people who might have difficulty with traditional squat toilets, which are often the only option in emergencies, reports Japan Times.

'Compared with water and food, toilets tend to be left out of disaster-preparation measures, but they are a matter of human dignity and human life,' said Atsushi Kato, representative director of the nonprofit research group Japan Toilet Labo.