In America, smart phones are popular. Smart toilets? Not so much. However, public restrooms and toilets in Japan are a different story.

"If there’s one thing Japan is passionate about, it’s toilets," The Washington Post reported in 2015. Another thing they're passionate about? Cleanliness. When the two passions are merged, you get state-of-the-art, clean public bathrooms that easily beat America's own version of a public restroom.

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The popular YouTube series "Life Where I'm From" features Japanese toilets in the episode "Figuring out a Japanese Toilet," because for foreigners, Japanese toilets may require a tutorial. Toilets in Japan just have standard amenities that American toilets do not, like seat-warming abilities and bidet - an added plumbing fixture that sprays water to clean the genital area - functions. 

There are some toilets in Japan that are "squat" style toilets, but even these are still in public restrooms that are typically much, much cleaner than most restrooms in America.

Roughly, "63 percent of Americans have at least one horror story from a public restroom," according to an ATTN: video posted in October 2016. Restrooms can be dirty, ranging from uncomfortable to unusable, and some restroom patrons have issues with the gap in stall doors, as noted in the ATTN: video.

The biggest issue isn't even about the toilets, but it's about how the majority, but not all the of restrooms in Japan are cleaner because Japanese residents have more respect for their environment. "In Japan, cleanliness is not just a personal issue, but a public one," The New York Times reported in 2003. 

"[...] usually in Japanese schools," Japan Info reports, "there would not be any janitors. Instead, school students are encouraged and taught to do cleaning by themselves."

If one is raised to clean up after themselves, it stands to reason that public spaces, like restrooms, would be cleaner. 

Check out ATTN:'s video on Japanese vs. American bathrooms below.