A lithium ion secondary battery, comprising: an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode sheet having a positive electrode mixture layer on a positive electrode collector and a negative electrode sheet having a negative electrode mixture layer on a negative electrode collector are overlain each other with a separator disposed therebetween, the electrode assembly being housed in a container together with a lithium ion-containing nonaqueous electrolyte solution, wherein the negative electrode mixture layer contains, as a negative active material which is the primary component thereof, a carbon material having at least in part a graphite structure, and when S (m 2) represents a value obtained by calculating a total surface area of the negative electrode active material included in a region of the negative electrode mixture layer lying opposite the positive electrode mixture layer per 1 Ah of the initial capacity of the battery, V represents a value obtained by calculating a total volume of pores included in the region of the negative electrode mixture layer per 1 Ah of the initial capacity of the battery, and N represents the number of lithium ions of the nonaqueous electrolyte solution included within the volume V, the value α computed by the following formula: α = S × N is from 1 × 10 22 to 2.5 × 10 22 ions·m 2, wherein the S is from 18 to 50 m 2, and wherein the initial capacity is obtained by charging the battery under temperature conditions of 25°C, first at a constant current of 1C (here, 0.2 A) until a voltage across the terminals reached 4.1 V, then at a constant voltage to a total charging time of 2.5 hours (CC-CV charging), and after 10 minutes of rest following the completion of charging, the battery is discharged at 25°C, first at a constant current of 0.33 C from 4.1 V down to 3.0 V, then at a constant voltage to a total discharging time of 4 hours, and the discharge capacity at this time was treated as the initial capacity (Ah) for the battery. an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode sheet having a positive electrode mixture layer on a positive electrode collector and a negative electrode sheet having a negative electrode mixture layer on a negative electrode collector are overlain each other with a separator disposed therebetween, the electrode assembly being housed in a container together with a lithium ion-containing nonaqueous electrolyte solution, wherein the negative electrode mixture layer contains, as a negative active material which is the primary component thereof, a carbon material having at least in part a graphite structure, and when S (m 2) represents a value obtained by calculating a total surface area of the negative electrode active material included in a region of the negative electrode mixture layer lying opposite the positive electrode mixture layer per 1 Ah of the initial capacity of the battery, V represents a value obtained by calculating a total volume of pores included in the region of the negative electrode mixture layer per 1 Ah of the initial capacity of the battery, and N represents the number of lithium ions of the nonaqueous electrolyte solution included within the volume V, the value α computed by the following formula: α = S × N is from 1 × 10 22 to 2.5 × 10 22 ions·m 2, wherein the S is from 18 to 50 m 2, and wherein the initial capacity is obtained by charging the battery under temperature conditions of 25°C, first at a constant current of 1C (here, 0.2 A) until a voltage across the terminals reached 4.1 V, then at a constant voltage to a total charging time of 2.5 hours (CC-CV charging), and after 10 minutes of rest following the completion of charging, the battery is discharged at 25°C, first at a constant current of 0.33 C from 4.1 V down to 3.0 V, then at a constant voltage to a total discharging time of 4 hours, and the discharge capacity at this time was treated as the initial capacity (Ah) for the battery. the S is from 18 to 50 m 2, and wherein the initial capacity is obtained by charging the battery under temperature conditions of 25°C, first at a constant current of 1C (here, 0.2 A) until a voltage across the terminals reached 4.1 V, then at a constant voltage to a total charging time of 2.5 hours (CC-CV charging), and after 10 minutes of rest following the completion of charging, the battery is discharged at 25°C, first at a constant current of 0.33 C from 4.1 V down to 3.0 V, then at a constant voltage to a total discharging time of 4 hours, and the discharge capacity at this time was treated as the initial capacity (Ah) for the battery.