The present survey, targeted at the Japanese general population, showed that the attributable fraction of cancer among Japanese tended to be higher for cancer-causing infection, occupational exposure, air pollution and food additives than major lifestyle factors such as dietary factors. In addition, the attributable fraction of cancer estimated by the Japanese general population was higher than that derived from epidemiologic evidence in the West, which is frequently quoted as 30% for tobacco smoking and 30% for food as a whole [1, 2] .