The kirikuchi char, Salvelinus leucomaenis japonicus, is a freshwater fish in the Salmonidae family. It is endemic to the Kii Peninsula of central Honshu in Japan. It is the southernmost population of the char genus Salvelinus and is considered a relict in its region. It is usually considered a subspecies of the whitespotted char Salvelinus leucomaenis but was listed as a separate species in the IUCN Red List (1996).Other subspecies of the whitespotted char S.