The genome of Japanese iris necrotic ring virus (JINRV) consists of a positive-sense ssRNA of 4014 nucleotides with six major open reading frames (ORFs). A 5'-non-coding region of 31 nucleotides precedes the first initiation codon. Like Carnation mottle virus (CarMV), the 5'-proximal three ORFs encode a 26 kDa protein (p26) and two readthrough proteins, i.e. an 85 kDa putative RNA replicase (p85) and a 99 kDa protein (p99). The central ORF encodes a small 8 kDa protein (p8). The 3'-proximal ORF encodes a 38 kDa capsid protein (p38). Another ORF encoding a 12 kDa protein (p12) overlaps the p99 ORF.JINRV RNA treated with bacterial alkaline phosphatase and tobacco acid pyrophosphatase could not be ligated to an oligoribonucleotide using T4 RNA ligase, indicating that the 5' end of the viral RNA is uncapped. The 3' end is not polyadenylated. Comparison of the genomic organization and the predicted amino acid sequences with those of other viruses confirmed that JINRV should be classified as a member of the genus Carmovirus, family Tombusviridae.