“Health Promotion Plan in Japan toward the 21st
Century (健康日本21)” is policy decision-making to determine nu-
merical value of goal to be achieved until 2010 for total health
promotion, the aim of which is to realize healthy and fully active
society in the future. Accumulated evidences on health status or
actual figures of cardiovascular disease are reduction in both
mortality and morbidity of cerebral stroke and no change in both
of coronary heart disease. It seems to be idealistic, but risk
factors for cardiovascular disease were recently and remarkably
changed, that is reduction in prevalence of hypertension, while
increase in obesity, glucose intolerance and hyperlipidemia.
Meanwhile, with growing number of elderly population, the
frequency of dementia or bedridden also increased. Cardiovascular
risk factors partially contributed to the occurrence of those
miserable conditions. Considering constant expansion of medical
expense into account, lifestyle modification is most necessary to
stop the progress of this social burden. On the basis of this
principle, numerical goal of total health promotion is set-up in the
areas of nutrition and food, physical activity and exercise,
relaxation and mental health, smoking, alcohol intake, health for
teeth, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and cancer. This
paper refers to the background evidence and concrete figures of
the plan.