Lophophorata is the group in Lophotrochozoa; consists of three phyla Bryozoa, Phoronida and Brachiopoda. Lophophorata have a crown of ciliated tentacles surrounding the mouth, called lophophore, used in suspension feeding; and the anus at the outside of the lophophore. This paper review current taxonomy of Japanese Lophophorata. Phylum Bryozoa comprise clonal, modular animals, inhabiting marine and freshwater environments. Observation of statoblasts, asexual encapsulated dormant bodies, using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) provides useful characters for the taxonomy of freshwater bryozoan class Phylactolaemata. Additional observation of histology of colony epidermis and the molecular phylogeny revealed the relationships between genera in Plumatellidae, the largest group in phylactolaemata. The first major report on a collection of Japanese marine bryozoans was the monograph on a collection from Sagami Bay; most of the species in the monograph had never been revised since its original description. All of the historical bryozoan specimens collected in Sagami Bay continually for more than 100 years were reexamined with SEM. Phylum Phoronida comprise a small group with only about ten species in the world, of which two species of Phoronis had been reported from Japan. However, their internal characters such as arrangement of the longitudinal muscle bundles and the nephridium morphology had never been studied. Two other phoronid species were newly found in revisional studies of Japanese Phoronida based on internal morphologies and the molecular phylogeny. Lingulid brachiopods are classified based on color and morphology of the valves and disposition of the adductor muscles, however Japanese Lingulid brachiopods had been identified based on characters of the valves only. In the preliminary study of Lingulid brachiopods from the Seto Inland Sea, all of the adductor muscles were reviewed with the new Japanese terms for the purpose of improving the taxonomic study in Japan.

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