The daily target is under 7.5 g
Japan’s Dietary Reference Intakes (2025) set a daily salt target of under 7.5 g for adult men and under 6.5 g for adult women, tightening to 6.0 g where hypertension or chronic kidney disease is a concern. Split across three meals, that is roughly 2.5 g per meal.
A third of meals pass half the daily target in one item
Among the meal items where salt is published, the average is 3.9 g per item, and 43% contain 3.75 g or more — over half a man’s daily target in a single item. Combine two or three and one meal out can reach the whole day’s target.
Which genres run highest
| Genre | Items | Avg kcal | Median | Avg salt (items) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noodles | 2,958 | 849 | 838 | 6.6 g(1,920) |
| Beef Bowls & Donburi | 827 | 813 | 783 | 4.4 g(708) |
| Set Meals & Bento | 1,889 | 732 | 723 | 4.3 g(1,533) |
| Family Restaurants | 6,046 | 684 | 660 | 4.0 g(5,841) |
| Yakiniku & Shabu-shabu | 765 | 666 | 595 | 3.5 g(765) |
| Convenience Stores | 1,802 | 391 | 351 | 3.0 g(1,802) |
| Izakaya | 235 | 352 | 302 | 2.9 g(103) |
| Burgers | 482 | 498 | 425 | 2.7 g(383) |
| Cafes | 1,101 | 493 | 414 | 2.4 g(804) |
| Meal Delivery & High-Protein | 1,057 | 324 | 305 | 2.2 g(1,051) |
| Sweets & Donuts | 20 | 399 | 336 | 1.9 g(16) |
| Sushi | 1,548 | 221 | 131 | 1.6 g(528) |
Anything served in broth carries salt in the liquid itself, and set meals stack up through sauce, miso soup and pickles. The figure in brackets is how many items in that genre actually publish a salt value.
What actually helps
- Leave the broth — finishing ramen or udon soup swings a meal by 2–3 g
- Skip table condiments — a teaspoon of soy sauce or dressing is 0.5–1 g
- Drop the soup or pickles — together they are around 1.5 g in a set meal
- Balance across the day — keep the other two meals light on salt
Figures in this article are aggregated from the 31,836 items across 191 chains we publish (as of 2026-11-06). Reference values follow Japan’s Dietary Reference Intakes (2025).
