"Breaking Away from 'Women-Only Lines': Lessons from PayPay Dome on Resolving Gender Disparities in Japanese Restrooms"

1. Why are there lines only for women in Japan?

1-1 The "Toilet Inequality" in Numbers

• In a survey of 729 transportation and commercial facilities, only 4% had more women's toilets than men's.ytv.co.jp.

• In a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism survey of station toilets, 44% of women were dissatisfied with lines compared to 31% of men.ytv.co.jp.

• The Asahi Shimbun Forum introduced the Sphere standard recommending a "3:1 ratio for women's to men's toilets," noting that women's usage time is about three times that of men's.asahi.com.

1-2 Institutional Gaps

• The Industrial Safety and Health Act determines the number of toilets based on "number of employees," but there are no legal standards for public or entertainment facilities.

• When architects design with "equal floor area," urinals are added on the men's side, resulting in a shortage of women's stalls.

2. PayPay Dome's Challenge

2-1 Background of Renovation

In the dome renovations that began in stages from 2018, visitor flow was reanalyzed, and the number of women's stalls was increased by about 1.7 times in 2020.jp.toto.com. The team explained that the motivation was the "increase in the ratio of female fans and response to international events."

2-2 Design & Technology

2-3 Results

• After the start of the 2024 season, less than 5% of respondents in match day surveys expressed dissatisfaction with toilet congestion for both men and women.

• In an interview with Nishinippon Shimbun, a representative stated, "Complaints about women's toilets have almost disappeared." b.hatena.ne.jp .

3. Comparison with Overseas "Potty Parity"

Consideration

• In Japan, there is no nationwide "toilet ratio" law, so the autonomy of local governments and the private sector is key.

• Designs that have proven successful overseas, such as variable-type toilets and all-gender neutral stalls, can also be popularized in Japan.

4. Technological Innovations Changing Wait Times

• Automatic adjustment of average usage time per stall using IoT sensors and AI analysis.

• Display of vacant toilets on smartphones with AR navigation.

• Smart partition walls that can reconfigure gender ratios in 5 minutes (Osaka Castle Hall example)asahi.com.

5. Recommendations for Facility Operators

1. Calculate initial number of toilets based on usage time × visitor attributes.

2. Incorporate variable private rooms for high-demand events.

3. Disperse peak times with gender-neutral private rooms.

4. Publish waiting time KPIs and implement the PDCA cycle.

6. Conclusion

The sight of only women lining up in long queues is not "normal." As demonstrated by the success at PayPay Dome, combining rethinking toilet ratios, dynamic layouts, and information visualization can potentially eliminate complaints in just a few years. For foreign visitors to Japan, a stadium where gender equality can be experienced will symbolize Japan's new "omotenashi" (hospitality).

List of Reference Articles

• Nishinippon Shimbun "Only women's restrooms have queues... Difference in the number of toilets installed for men and women; PayPay Dome's ingenuity eliminated complaints" (June 18, 2025)
  
  

• Yomiuri TV 'Miyaneya' "Why is the women's restroom queue problem not improving?" (February 27, 2025)
  　

• Asahi Shimbun Forum "Considering the Queue for Women's Restrooms: What are the Solutions?" (June 15, 2025)
  　

• TOTO Case Study "Fukuoka PayPay Dome Toilet Renovation" (April 2020)
  　PDF Version

• U.S. General Services Administration “Facilities Standards for Public Buildings Service (P100 - 2024)”
  　

• Women’s Restroom Parity Laws in the United States – WCPI Hearing Memo (2025)
  　

• American Restroom Association “Potty Parity” FAQ / Regulations (2024)