A Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped, motile bacterium, designated strain 43(T), was isolated from a Japanese salty food and then subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Strain 43(T) is moderately halophilic, growing at NaCl concentrations in the range 5-25 % (w/v), with optimum growth between 7.5 and 12.5 % (w/v) NaCl. Growth occurs at temperatures from 15 to 42 degrees C (optimally at 28-37 degrees C) and at pH 5.5-9.0 (optimally at pH 7.0-8.0). A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain 43(T) belongs to the genus Chromohalobacter. The closest relatives were Chromohalobacter canadensis ATCC 43984(T) (99.3 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Chromohalobacter beijerinckii ATCC 19372(T) (99.1 %), Chromohalobacter sarecensis LV4(T) (98.3 %), Chromohalobacter nigrandesensis LTS-4N(T) (97.9 %) and Chromohalobacter marismortui ATCC 17056(T) (97.9 %). The DNA G+C content was 62.9 mol%, which is within the range described for the genus Chromohalobacter. DNA-DNA hybridization studies between strain 43(T) and C. canadensis CECT 5385(T) and C. beijerinckii DSM 7218(T) showed 38 and 49 % relatedness, respectively; lower DNA-DNA hybridization percentages were obtained with respect to other related Chromohalobacter species. The major fatty acids of strain 43(T) were C(16 : 0), C(19 : 0) cyclo omega8c and C(12 : 0) 3-OH. Overall, the phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic results demonstrated that strain 43(T) represents a novel species within the genus Chromohalobacter. The name Chromohalobacter japonicus sp. nov. is proposed, with strain 43(T) (=CECT 7219(T) =CCM 7416(T)) as the type strain.