We would like to express our deepest sympathies to all those affected by the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake.

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it will donate one TOWAILET, a self-treatment type flush toilet facility, to Suzu city, Ishikawa Prefecture, where the reconstruction of infrastructure is ongoing at a rapid pace to facilitate the recovery from the serious disaster of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on January 1, 2024.

The coastal area of the Horyu district of Suzu city, which is located at the end of the Noto Peninsula, was damaged seriously by the earthquake and tsunami. In particular, it is unclear how quickly the water and sewage system of the Horyu district will be restored due to many underground pipes being damaged. It is feared that this will delay the recovery from the earthquake. In the meantime, it is necessary to build infrastructure to support the victims of the disaster and the people engaged in restoration activities.

TOWAILET is a movable flush toilet facility launched by Nishimu Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. in 2020. The facility can be used even when there is no water and sewage system or power source. ITOCHU has been supporting sales of TOWAILET as a distributor. Excrement is biodegraded within the facility using the company’s unique purification technology and the filtered and purified water is used again as cleaning water. In addition, it is equipped with solar power generation equipment and lithium-ion batteries, enabling the facility to operate for approximately three days without sunlight.

The TOWAILET facility that will be donated on March 29 will be installed in the parking lot of Notoji-so, used by people involved in the restoration of Horyu district and the construction of temporary housing facilities. The installation of the TOWAILET facility enables people engaged in the ongoing water and sewage system restoration activities in the surrounding area to use flush toilets. After the completion of the restoration work in the district, ITOCHU will continue to contribute to the establishment of a clean and comfortable toilet facility environment that reduces the risk of infection by facilitating the TOWAILET's relocation to another place where the facility is required.

We sincerely hope that the affected areas will recover as quickly as possible.