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Aim carefully with $130,000 crystal toilet

TOKYO--Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but crystals are clearly for asses.

That's what Japanese interior-fixtures maker Lixil believes, and it's proving it with this awesomely blinged-out toilet under its Inax brand.

The Satis loo is decked out in 72,000 Swarovski crystals and is valued at $130,000, according to Lixil. It's on display at the company's showroom just outside Tokyo's tony Ginza district.

"2011 was a really tough year for Japan, with the earthquake and tsunami disasters," says Lixil's Shintaro Kaai. "We wanted to do this to cheer everybody up just before Christmas." … Read more

Japan's smart toilets: Jazz tunes, target practice

On the latest edition of Japan's most popular music show, a young woman got up with her guitar in front of a nationwide audience and sang a song about toilets. It lasted for eight minutes.

Far from being aghast, the audience was moved. Kana Uemura's rendition of her hit "Toire no Kamisama" ("The Goddess in the Toilet") was a highlight of NHK TV's "Kohaku Uta Gassen," a New Year's Eve music special that has been on the air for 60 years.

The song, originally nearly 10 minutes long, is about Uemura's love for her late grandmother, who would encourage her while she was a child to clean the toilet by telling her that if she did, the Toilet Goddess would be pleased and turn her into a beautiful woman.

Released last year, it proved a runaway success, picking up two Japan Record Awards and inspiring two books and a TV drama based on Uemura's story. It's no wonder that Uemura's concerts are now sponsored by Inax, a major Japanese toilet manufacturer. … Read more