The salt intake of the Japanese population is influenced by its traditional eating habits and the Japanese, especially the inhabitants of Northeast, consumed 20-30 g of salt per day.

The author have made an atempt to demonstrate the changes in salt intake and blood pressure for the past 20 years.

The volunteer subjects(N=26) were chosen from the inhabitants in Oinomori and Kanaya villages in Northeast. The average age of male and female farmers was 46 in 1961.

Three consecutive 24-hour urine samples were collected from the same person in 1961 and 1981. Blood pressure was determined once or twice a yeat by mass surveys from 1954 in O-village and from 1958 in K-village, respectively, up to 1975. and the changes in blood pressure for each person were calculated according to the records obtained during the entire period.

The salt intake of farmers in Northeast Japan decreased from 17.0 g per day in 1961 to 11.9 g in 1981 and the blood pressure did not rise with advance in age during the past 20 years.

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