2. November 2023
Wim Wenders’ new film, “Perfect Days”, tells the story of toilet cleaner Hirayama in quiet, stark images. He lives a simple life in Tokyo, with every day following the same basic structure. Played by Kōji Yakusho, Hirayama is responsible for cleaning not just any public toilets, but the unique ones created for THE TOKYO TOILET Project by the Nippon Foundation. These were designed by famed architects like Toyo Ito, Kengo Kuma, Tadao Ando and Shigeru Ban.
These innovative toilet facilities are equipped with TOTO products. “Perfect Days” premiered at Cannes International Film Festival this May. Main actor Yakusho was honoured with the Best Actor award at the festival for his performance. The film will be shown in German cinemas in December.
In the film, Hirayama travels to the different public toilets in Tokyo’s Shibuya district and cleans them. He is fully committed to his job and does it thoroughly. When someone comes to use the toilet, he makes himself virtually invisible to avoid disturbing them. Content and calm, Hirayama experiences the perfect day every day at work, but also with the simple little things in life. Every morning, he has a can of coffee, listens to cassettes with rock songs from the 60s and 70s on his way to work, enjoys reading and analogue photography, which he uses to capture moods. These are the things that he loves and that enrich his daily life. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal stories from his past. “The new Wim Wenders film celebrates the simple things, the poetry in our everyday rituals and impassioned dedication,” writes online magazine kino-zeit.de in its review of “Perfect Days”.
The Nippon Foundation devoted the same dedication and commitment to developing the 17 public toilets that Hirayama cleans that are part of THE TOKYO TOILET Project. People in Japan are also often reluctant to use public restrooms, even though the standards are much higher, and these facilities are much cleaner than in Germany. The 17 toilet pavilions are definitely worth seeing – featuring inviting, modern architecture and hygienic, fully accessible facilities. The toilets are designed to be safe and clean at any time of day or night and easy for everyone to use, whatever their gender, age or physical ability. As Japan’s leading manufacturer of sanitary ceramics, TOTO played a key advisory role in the project and designed the interiors of these spaces.
TOTO, one of the world’s leading sanitary ware companies with 36,000 employees world-wide, has an unwavering focus on people and their well-being. Since its foundation in Kitakyushu, Japan in 1917, TOTO has been developing, producing and marketing its comprehensive high-end bathroom concepts – entering the European market in 2009. The company aims to create a new attitude towards life through regeneration, comfort and hygiene, integrating easy-to-use technologies into their product designs in a smart, nearly invisible way. Japan’s leading manufacturer in the sector, TOTO offers a comprehensive range of products including ceramic sanitary ware, faucets and accessories. The company can look back on over 40 years of success in developing and manufacturing WASHLET, having sold over 60 million of them world-wide so far.
TOTO is strongly committed to improving people’s well-being – as well as that of our planet. TOTO joined Initiative RE100 with the goal of becoming an emission-free company and is working towards achieving carbon neutrality at all its locations by 2050 – primarily through the consistent use of renewable energies. In 2021, TOTO received certification from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for adopting targets in line with Paris Climate Accord. By selling and developing products that save water, the company is helping conserve resources each and every day. Sustainable products will make up 83% of TOTO’s portfolio by 2030 – with innovative technologies dramatically cutting water consumption. With these steps, TOTO is pursuing complete climate neutrality by 2050 – see our Integrated Report 2024 for more details.
More about TOTO: eu.toto.com