AIM: To determine the prevalence of age related maculopathy (ARM) in a representative older Japanese population. METHODS: 1486 residents of Hisayama town, Fukuoka, Japan, aged 50 years or older were examined and the presence of ARM was determined by grading from fundus examination by indirect ophthalmoscope, slit lamp, and colour fundus photographs. RESULTS: The prevalence rate of drusen, which occurred with comparable frequency in men and women, was 9.6%. The frequency of drusen increased with age (p <0.01). Hyperpigmentation and/or hypopigmentation of the retina was present in 3.2%, geographic atrophy in 0.2%, and neovascular age related macular degeneration in 0.67%. The frequency of neovascular age related macular degeneration was significantly higher in the men (1.2% v. 0.34%, p <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Early and late stage ARM is less common among Japanese people than among white people in Western countries, while late stage ARM is more common among Japanese than among black people.