Chlorine and purified water (Yusui water purifier)

The Japanese Waterworks Act, through its enforcement regulations, mandates that tap water must contain at least 0.1 ppm of residual chlorine at the tap.

As long as it's 0.1 ppm or more, any amount can be added.
In other words, there is no upper limit.

Such an example is not found in other countries considered developed.
Due to this, the amount of chlorine has been increasing with the deterioration of water quality.
In April 1993, the Department of Urban Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo, conducted and published a study on the amount of chlorine at the tap stage in 50 locations within Tokyo. At that time, more than half of the taps showed chlorine levels exceeding 1 ppm.

Why is Japanese tap water full of chlorine??
Japanese tap water is purified by taking in river and groundwater. Upstream factories discharge chemical substances into rivers, and the use of agricultural chemicals in fields has led to eutrophication, causing a significant deterioration in river water quality.
The biggest pollutant in rivers was agricultural chemicals.
Japan's agricultural chemical usage was the highest in the world until 2002. It is currently the third highest in the world, following China and South Korea. This is why the use of chlorine without an established upper limit has become the norm.

In Japan, commercially available mineral water is legally required to be sterilized. It is not natural groundwater. Nevertheless, it is becoming easier to purchase, and if you keep it stocked, you can drink it anytime.
As more people avoid chlorine and purchase water, environmental issues at water sources and waste problems from bottle disposal are becoming serious.

Mineral water is simply drawn from a specific location. Japan is a volcanic country with many volcanic rocks, and volcanic rocks are inherently low in minerals. Almost all commercially available mineral waters have very low mineral content.
※The water used in "Yuusui" contains abundant minerals from "granite."

Tap water is actually rich in minerals

Compare the mineral content of tap water with that of commercially available mineral water.

Mineral content of tap water

◆Calcium 15.9018 mg/ℓ
◆Potassium 1.17155 mg/ℓ
◆Magnesium 4.75958 mg/ℓ
◆Sodium 8.01222 mg/ℓ
(Survey by the National Consumer Affairs Center)

Mineral content of tap water

Photos of the mineral content (nutritional information) of commercially available mineral waters.
It is clear that the amount of minerals is very low.
Nevertheless, the amount of chlorine and chlorinated compounds in tap water is enormous, and I'm hesitant to ingest it...

So, there's the water server type, which can be purchased in large cases.
Server rental fees are often free. It's also convenient because hot water is readily available.
What needs to be considered are the "installation space," "water cost," and "electricity cost." Especially the water and electricity costs, at one bottle per week, amount to around 4,500 yen per month. This means 60,000 yen annually, so this is a key point.
If you wash vegetables and rice with chlorinated tap water, vitamins will be destroyed. It would be great if it could be used for that too... but then it could consume 40 liters per day. That's not realistic...
At this point, a tap-mounted water purifier, which only costs 0.3 yen per liter for tap water, plus the main unit and cartridge fees, starts to look attractive.

Removing chlorine from tap water by installing a water purifier can also solve the problem.
The mainstream cartridge types that attach to faucets cost around 8,000 to 15,000 yen annually for the initial unit price and running cartridge costs.
If you can tolerate the weak water flow, it's understandable why they are so popular.

However, there's actually a big problem... please be aware of it.

Most cartridge types use "activated carbon (antibacterial activated carbon) + hollow fiber membrane filters," and instead of removing chlorine, they introduce 'silver' and 'synthetic surfactants' into your body.

Use of silver
Activated carbon (labeled as antibacterial activated carbon)... used to remove organic substances such as chlorine, mold odor substances, and trihalomethanes.
▶Activated carbon is coated with silver to prevent bacterial growth ▶Silver leaches into the body ▶Difficult to excrete, similar to mercury (Banned in the US).

Use of synthetic surfactants
Hollow fiber membrane... used to filter out bacteria and rust by passing water through countless tiny holes.
▶Even water struggles to pass through ▶Hydrophilizing agents are applied to improve flow ▶Hydrophilizing agents are said to be synthetic surfactants (main components of synthetic detergents, shampoos, etc.), but the exact nature is a trade secret.