[AustinGrandt]

A lot of the Japanese toilets have water saving mechanisms where the water that fills the toilet is used for a small sink on the top of the toilet to wash your hands.

I agree that there are more ways that we should be conserving water, and we are beginning to see more toilets with a small or large flush function (which almost all Japanese toilets have as well).

As for your question about the noise function in Japanese toilets, fancy bathrooms sometimes have a noise function to cover up the noise of using the bathroom. Most normally it is a recording of a toilet flushing, but some other more "luxurious" ones have little jingles that play when you hit a button.