In addition to the economic, political, and social factors discussed elsewhere in these comments, the notion of “taboo” also, I think, helps to explain the diff

In addition to the economic, political, and social factors discussed elsewhere in these comments, the notion of “taboo” also, I think, helps to explain the difference between the availability of public toilets in the U.S. and in Japan (and maybe other Asian countries). Nicholas Kristof’s column has a kind of “taboo-breaking” undertone, as if he is aware that he is writing about a subject that would normally not be mentioned in the New York Times. And, in fact, I don’t recall seeing similar articles more than a few times before in nearly six decades of reading mainstream U.S. print media. In contrast, in Japan, where I’ve been reading mainstream newspapers for nearly four decades, the topic is not taboo at all, and it’s not unusual to see articles about public toilets and related matters. A search at Google News in Japanese now finds recent articles (some paywalled, all in Japanese) about a survey of public toilets in Okayama City [1], a move to build more Western-style public toilets in Matsumoto City [2], a video released by Chiba Prefecture to promote better manners by users of public toilets [3], installation of a self-cleaning toilet in a park in Kamiamakusa City [4], and (timed to the tenth anniversary of the Fukushima disaster) local governments preparing emergency toilets for future disasters [5]. Most of these articles seem to be based on press releases from local governments. [1] https://www.sanyonews.jp/article/1107034 https://www.sanyonews.jp/article/1107034 [2] https://www.shimintimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/post-12877.php https://www.shimintimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/post-12877.php [3] https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOFB168BZ0W1A210C2000000/ https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOFB168BZ0W1A210C2000000/ [4] https://kumanichi.com/news/id128124 https://kumanichi.com/news/id128124 [5] https://www.niigata-nippo.co.jp/news/politics/20210309603080.html https://www.niigata-nippo.co.jp/news/politics/20210309603080...