During the Lunar New Year, about 450,000 Chinese went to Japan from February 18 to 24 to celebrate the holidays. Some of them purchased rice cookers and high-tech Japanese toilet seats.

The spending spree for something made in Japan irked Global Times, an English-language newspaper in China run by state-owned People's Daily.

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In an editorial, the newspaper, while admitting that the toilet seats are good examples of human touch, intelligent design and sophisticated Japan-made products, said that some Chinese consider it a shameful act for Chinese tourists in Japan to buy those items.

The editorial reads: "Japan used to dominate the global household electrical appliance market, but now consumers recognize its toilet seats or rice cookers, which demonstrates the regression of its industry."

The daily also said that high-tech toilet seats are not what Chinese manufacturers aspire to produce because China is aiming at higher products.

Japanese toilets have gained fame among travelers that upon arriving in Japan, one of the first stops of tourists is not just to seek relief after a long travel but also to see for themselves the famous loos, which are also found in restaurants, airports and department stores.

Among their unique features are the warm seats that also check blood pressure, play music, spray air purifier and wash and dry the anus and other private parts with the use of an in-toilet noozle, according to the Telegraph.

Global Times also said that Chinese tourists making purchases at Japanese stores at a time when demand for locally made items is low "is certainly not something to be proud of."

The enmity between the two Asian giants go a long way over historical understanding of events during the war and territorial dispute over some islands in the East China Sea, now reduced to toilet seats.

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