The Salt Industry Center of Japan

Salt is essential for human life. It has been used as a holy substance and as a valuable material in commerce and culture since ancient times.

With the growing popularity of vacuum-packed food and the development of the food service industry and convenience stores, our eating habits have changed considerably in recent years. Salt is a seasoning found in all homes and is familiar to us because of its use in food processing industries. No matter how our life changes in the future, we will probably be unable to live without salt.

Salt was controlled by the government monopoly system during the period from the end of the Meiji Era (1905) to the 9th year of Heisei Era (1997), which included the Taisho Era and Showa Era. The Salt Industry Center of Japan was established in 1996 as the sole research institution developing technology and inheriting results of past studies, which had been carried on for many years. The Center conducted investigations into salt manufacturing technology and many other areas related to salt, and provided information based on this work to the public. The Center was designated by the Finance Minister under the Salt Business Law (1996 Law No. 39)* to ensure a stable supply of inexpensive and reliably safe salt throughout the country and to stock salt in preparation for emergencies.

Today, when the relationships between an individual’s life and salt are diverse, the Center conducts research by considering this diversity in terms of future situations and makes every effort to explain the historical background and value of salt in more detail, which is so familiar to everyone and which must always be procured reliably.

* The Salt Business Law: The law aims to ensure a stable supply of good-quality salt through the proper operation of the salt business. Salt is indispensable to people’s lives and there is no alternative to it; consequently, necessary measures must be taken to pursue the sound development of the salt industry in Japan, thereby contributing to the welfare of the people. The law was enacted following the abolition of the Salt Monopoly Law.