The National Nutrition Survey in Japan (NNS-J) started in 1945 and has provided information on dietary intake and health status of Japanese citizens to the public and policymakers for more than half a century. We summarized several relevant issues on the survey in this report : the current framework of the NNS-J in accordance with the Nutrition Improvement Law, utilization of the survey for nutrition and health policy in Japan, the Health Promotion Law recently enacted in 2003, the national plan for health promotion and disease prevention (Health Japan 21), and possible measures to improve the survey systems under the new law. We also mentioned implementation structures of regional health and nutrition surveys, because the Health Promotion Law designates an active role of local governments on promoting health for their citizens, which will enhance the needs for appropriate assessment of health and nutrition conditions in each community as well as the monitoring at the national level. (J Community Nutrition 5(2) : 59-64,2003)