It has two light-producing organs, photophores in the abdominal muscle which run from the thorax to just past the anus, these are connected at the end nearest the fish's head.

[1] Acropoma japonicum is a marine species with a depth range of 100–500 metres (330–1,640 ft)[2] It inhabits sand and sandy mud bottoms.

As the breeding season progresses the body condition of the males worsens and as a result they have a higher mortality than the females.

[4] Acropoma japonicum is an important food fish which is a bycatch in Korean waters but in Japan it is used in the commercial manufacture of fishcakes.

[3] Acropoma japonicum was first formally described in 1859 by the German born British zoologist Albert Günther (1830-1914) with the type locality being given as the "Japanese Sea".