wastewater more efficiently to save on the
costs of raw water. Recycling facilities have
also been developed alongside water
treatment facilities as a result of the
adoption of water recycling and cleaner
technologies.
Over the past 20 years, demand for domestic
water, both in total and per-capita, has increased
along with the improvement in living
standards. For example, almost all new
apartments now have their own bathroom
for bathing (whereas in the past the public
bath was quite common in Japan). Recently,
however, domestic water demand has been
growing at a decreasing rate, in part due to
decreases in population growth and a trend
towards smaller families. Consequently,
along with the decrease in industrial and
agricultural water use, total water use in
Japan, after peaking in 1995, has tended to
decline for the past ten years (See Table 2-1).
Under these situations, the national
government, which chronically suffers huge
budget deficits, has tried to stop the
construction of costly newly planned dams.