We performed a genome-wide association study to identify genetic variants that confer susceptibility to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Japanese. The rs9846911 at 3q28 was significantly associated with CKD in Japanese. The rs2074381 and rs2074380 of ALPK1 at 4q25 were also significantly associated with CKD in individuals with diabetes mellitus. Combined genotype analysis of these three SNPs revealed that the largest odds ratio for the high-risk genotype was 4.2 compared with the low-risk genotype. Chromosome 3q28 may be a susceptibility locus for CKD in Japanese, and ALPK1 may be a susceptibility gene for CKD in such individuals with diabetes mellitus. (By Dr. Yoshiji Yamada, http://jmg.bmj.com/content/early/2013/03/27/jmedgenet-2013-101518 )