Washlet

Washlet(ウォシュレット,Woshuretto) is a registered trademark of the Japanese toilet company Toto, referring to electric toilet seats with water spray feature for anal and genital cleansing. It falls into the category of "electronic bidets" and is commonplace at toilets in Japan. The buttons associated with operating the cleansing features are labeled "oshiri" (bottom) and "bidet". Some models have a sensor that prevents spraying water when a person is not sitting on the toilet. In order to determine the appropriate spray position, Toto surveyed 300 male and female employees during development. Released in June 1980, a total of more than 30 million washlets have been sold by January 2011. Washlets have a large share in the cleansing toilet seats market and have such a wide reputation that similar products from other toilet manufacturers like INAX (currently LIXIL. Their product is named “shower toilet”) are also colloquially referred to as washlets, even though “washlet” is a registered trademark of TOTO.