Table 2. Number of S. thermophilus strains isolated from raw milk.

Sampling year	Numbef of raw milk samples	Number of isolated strains								Total number of isolated strains
		Hokkaido	Tohoku	Kanto	Chubu	Kinki	Chugoku	Shikoku	Kyushu
2011	92	16								16
2012	88	4	6	12	3	1	1	3	7	37
2014	89	71					1	3	5	80
2016	36	7	5	7	6				3	28
2017	8	11								11
Total	313	109	11	19	9	1	2	6	15	172