What Is an Ostomate? Meaning, Japan's Ostomate Mark and Accessible Toilets

What Is an Ostomate? Meaning, Japan's Ostomate Mark and Accessible Toilets

Quick answer: An ostomate is a person living with a stoma — a surgically created opening for stool or urine (colostomy, ileostomy or urostomy). Japan has roughly 200,000 ostomates and a nationwide network of ostomate-friendly toilets marked with the ostomate pictogram.

The word ostomate simply means a person who has an ostomy: a colostomy, ileostomy or urostomy. In Japan the term オストメイト is widely used on signage and official documents, and the country has one of the world's best public infrastructures for ostomates.

The ostomate mark

Japan uses a standardised pictogram (JIS) to indicate toilets and facilities equipped for ostomates. You will find it at stations, airports, department stores and public buildings.

Ostomate-friendly toilets

These multi-purpose restrooms include a special basin for rinsing and emptying pouches, a mirror at abdomen height and space to manage supplies — a model that many other countries are only beginning to adopt.

Daily life

With the right routine and the right garments, ostomates work, travel, swim and exercise like anyone else. See our ostomy belts and high-waist underwear, designed with a community of 50,000+ ostomates.

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