Individual eating habits may be influenced by genetic factors, in addition to environmental factors. Previous studies suggested that adherence to Japanese food patterns was associated with a decreased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a Japanese population to find genetic variations that affect adherence to a Japanese food pattern. We found one SNP in the 14q11.2 locus that was significantly associated with the Japanese food score with P values <5 × 10.sup.-8. Functional annotation revealed that the expression levels of two genes (BCL2L2, SLC22A17) were significantly inversely associated with this SNP. These genes are known to be related to olfaction and obesity. We found a new SNP that was associated with the Japanese food score in a Japanese population. This SNP is inversely associated with genes link to olfaction and obesity.