There is an inherited paternal predisposition to hypertension. Y chromosome alphoid satellite variation was recently reported to be linked to diastolic blood pressure. To determine whether there is also a Y chromosome marker linked to hypertension, we investigated the prevalence of the Y chromosome Alu insertion polymorphism (YAP) at DYS287 and its association with hypertension in the Aomori population in the northern area of Honshu Island, Japan. YAP was present in 98 of 285 male residents and absent in the rest. The YAP prevalence in the present study would appear to suggest that the present study population represents the general male population in central Japan. Within the study population, there were 110 hypertensive subjects and 104 normotensive subjects. YAP frequency in the hypertensive subjects was not different from that in the normotensive subjects. These results suggest that the YAP is not likely to be a genetic-susceptibility factor for hypertension in the Aomori population. (Hypertens Res 2002; 25: 1-3)