We examined allozymic variation in 65 protein-coding loci in three samples of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) from Hokkaide, and Honshu, Japan, Over-all, six variable loci were seen and each of the three samples was variable at 3–5 loci. Two loci,mAH-1,2* andALAT*, were variable at the P0,95 level. Average heterozygosity ranged from 0.012 to 0.013, representing some of the lowest recorded values for the species. Although frequencies ofALAT* alleles differed significantly among the three samples, the overallχ2 for six polymorphic loci was not statistically significant. New data for four Russian samples at 45–64 loci were also obtained. In comparison to the Japanese samples, three samples from the Kamchatka Peninsula had two to three times the level of variation; and a sample from Iturup Island (Kuril Island archipelago) was slightly more variable. Although the anadromous sockeye salmon were originally planted from Iturup Island to Lake Shikotsu, a close genetic affinity was not indicated. These seven samples ofO. nerka were compared with representative samples previously studied in North America using five polymorphic loci. Two large groups of samples were indicated in multilocus analyses: 1) a cluster of the seven Asian samples, one Alaskan sample, and one northern British Columbia sample; and 2) a group that included a southern British Columbia sample (Fraser River), and samples from the Columbia River and Washington. We discuss these findings in light of maintaining viable populations of both forms ofO. nerka.