
Sure, when you gotta go, you gotta go, but that doesn’t mean you gotta come.
In Japan, there’s a bit of a manners debate about using convenience store restrooms. Some people think it’s proper to ask permission from the staff first, and many stores have signs asking customers to do so. On the other hand, the bathrooms don’t require a key to access, permission is pretty much always granted, and some customers feel embarrassed announcing to a stranger that they need to go to the bathroom.
28-year-old Atsushi Iwao appears to be in the you-should-ask-first camp, which ordinarily would be a sign of courteousness on his part. However, the specific question he posed to a female convenience store clerk in Fukuoka City was far from an example of elegant etiquette, as he asked:
“I want to masturbate, so would it be all right if I used the restroom?”
In a further example of Iwao’s odd mix of thoughtfulness and classlessness, he asked the question while purchasing a pack of condoms, suggesting that he was planning to keep the mess to a minimum, but it’d likely be giving him too much credit to assume he was also planning to take the used prophylactic with him when he was done.
The request was, of course, denied, as was an identical one Iwao made on a separate date within the same month. Both incidents took place in October of 2021, but this week police officers were able to identify Iwao and placed him under arrest for obscene conduct, likely long after he’d assumed he’d gotten away with it for good. Iwao, a middle school social studies teacher, was also suspected of obscene conduct of an unannounced nature in a Fukuoka drugstore in December of 2021, and has admitted to all three incidents, saying “There is no mistake” in regards to the accusations. Odds are his arrest won’t do anything to sway the convenience store owners elsewhere in Japan who are being asked to let their store restrooms be used as public toilets for non-customers as well.
Source: Tele Q via Otakomu, Kyushu Asahi Hoso
Top image: Pakutaso (edited by SoraNews24)
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Japanese teacher who asked permission to jerk off at convenience store has been fired
To ask or not to ask: The etiquette and law of using convenience store restrooms in Japan
“I’ll kill you!” says Japanese schoolgirl when convenience store won’t let her use restroom
Japanese city’s plan to make convenience store restrooms public restrooms stinks, owners think
Loaded gun found in convenience store restroom in Japan, cop’s on-duty poop to blame
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino
Eevee returns to Japan’s famous Tokyo Banana, bundled with a cute tote bag
Japan’s craziest burger chain takes menchi katsu to new extreme levels
Japan Extreme Budget Travel! A trip from Tokyo to Izumo for just 30,000 yen [Part 2]
Hello Kitty says hello to Godzilla in new kaiju/Sanrio crossover collaboration
Final Fantasy IX gets its own pop-up store in Osaka and Tokyo for 25th anniversary
The fish in rural Fukui that rivals Japan’s most auspicious sea bream
Final Fantasy and Shinkansen announce collaboration with in-train audio play, SD art and merch
Is “The Most Annoying but Most Delicious” ramen from 7-Eleven truly the most delicious?
Bizarre or brilliant? Takoyaki and okonomiyaki rice balls available in convenience stores now
Highest Starbucks in Japan set to open this spring in the Tokyo sky
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Tokyo Skytree turns pink for the cherry blossom season
Yakuzen ramen restaurant in Tokyo is very different to a yakuza ramen restaurant
Shibuya Station’s Hachiko Gate and Yamanote Line stairway locations change next month
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Starbucks Japan adds new sakura Frappuccino and cherry blossom drinks to the menu
Japan Extreme Budget Travel! A trip from Tokyo to Izumo for just 30,000 yen [Part 1]
Japan’s new “Cunte” contact lenses aren’t pronounced like you’re probably thinking they are
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Foreigners accounting for over 80 percent of off-course skiers needing rescue in Japan’s Hokkaido
Super-salty pizza sends six kids to the hospital in Japan, linguistics blamed
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura Frappuccino for cherry blossom season 2026
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting the lines at a popular Tokyo gyukatsu restaurant?
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Can you tell if a Japanese neighborhood is dangerous by looking at its convenience store?
Netizens annoyed that Japan Self-Defense Forces had to announce that aid workers can use restrooms
Hokkaido man arrested after asking convenience store to lend him money
5 reasons Japanese convenience stores rock
Man arrested in rural Japan on charges of leaving obscene DVDs in stores as gifts for “healthy men”
Newlyweds on honeymoon in Japan beat up convenience store clerk, get arrested
Man cooks rice, stir-fried noodles in convenience store parking lot before starting police chase
These convenience stores really, really want you to buy their ehomaki Setsubun rolls
Man arrested for trying to kill a convenience store owner over a cup of coffee
Elderly Hyogo man touches convenience store clerk’s breast, buys all the fried chicken, runs away
Hokkaido woman arrested for stealing 1.9 million yen from convenience store in broad daylight
“Nasty” photo of convenience store clerk at work highlights Japan’s strict cleanliness standards
Japanese convenience store will now ask customers who ask for a fork to use chopsticks instead
Toilet rubber theft baffles, grosses out Japan
Man in Nagoya can’t be bothered to use dorm bathroom, brings bottles of his pee to work instead