The amount of salt consumed annually in
Japan is approximately 7,500,000 tons.
Only about twenty per cent of this total is employed
in seasoning and food preparation; the remainder
fulfils a variety of functions in soda technology
and, to a somewhat lesser extent, in other areas
of industry and manufacturing as well.
A comparison of original salt sources with patterns
of consumption for the finished product shows that
domestically produced salt is used in Japan primarily
as table salt or for other culinary purposes. The
main supplies of industrial salt are imported from
other countries, such as Australia, China and Mexico;
most of the imported salt cargoes consist of naturally
sun-dried lake or sea salt.
 Edible
Salt
Salt is indispensable as a flavouring agent
on the table and in cookery, but seasoning is not
its sole function in food preparation ; it is also
used as a mordant, preservative, and dehydrating
agent.
General
Industrial Uses
In addition to its importance as a dehydrating
agent, mordant, and preservative, salt has many
other useful qualities which increase its value
in refrigeration, chemical technology, and other
areas of industry and manufacturing apart from food
processing. Large quantities of salt are further
required to maintain the health of cattle and other
domestic animals, and in producing artificial medical
blood-plasma fluids.
Soda
Industries
Approximately seventy-five per cent of the
total salt consumed in Japan each year is used in
technologies related to soda. The word "soda" is
derived from a Latin term referring to the element
sodium, a major component of salt (sodium chloride);
sodium technology is a term applied to the industries
using salt as a raw material in the production of
caustic soda, chlorine, soda ash, and other essential
substances.
In turn, these soda derivatives are employed in
countless other manufacturing processes, from paper-making
and glass-making to contemporary electronics and
rocket-fuels.
Uses and sources of salt in Japan today
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