Japanese-style disposable diapers for adults likely will replace European type as international standard as early as in 2016, according to industry sources

Nevin Barich

MICHIGAN , May 26, 2014 (Bay City Times) – Japanese-style disposable diapers for adults likely will replace the European type as the international standard as early as in 2016, according to industry sources.

The International Standards Organization has found Japanese-style adult diapers are less costly and do not leak as much, besides conserving resources better than European ones.

The sources said users only have to replace a liquid-absorbent pad for urine, while the European diaper must be completely replaced.

Domestic diaper manufacturers, including Unicharm Corp. and Kao Corp., hope the ISO's move to recognize the Japanese type will benefit their global product marketing strategies.

The ISO provides evaluation guidelines for adult diapers, which are used by many hospitals and nursing homes around the world. In the U.S. and Europe, pads are used with normal undergarments, and it is unusual for pads to be used with paper diapers.

With the European type, if incontinence occurs five times a day and diapers also are changed twice daily in the morning and evening, a total of seven diapers are needed, costing about 500 yen (about $5) a day. With the Japanese type, on the other hand, diapers usually are changed only twice.

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