A number of companies taking part in this year's International Home Care and Rehabilitation Exhibition in Tokyo have been demonstrating automatic toilet-cum-washlets, aimed at Japan's burgeoning elderly care market. Salespeople demonstrated how a U-shaped cup fits between the wearer's legs and contains a sensor that activates a suction mechanism when triggered. Waste is moved rapidly away from the body before a bidet spray-cleans and then blow-dries the area. The cup is connected to a duct which moves the waste into a tank. "This machine is intended to ease the burden for caregivers, especially at night, and it also helps those in bed stay clean," said Daizo Igawa, manager of Muscle Corp, as he demonstrated the firm's "Robohelper" automatic toilet.