  The tensor charges of the nucleon are calculated in the framework of the
SU(3) chiral quark soliton model. The rotational $1/N_c$ and strange quark mass
corrections are taken into account up to linear order. We obtain the following
numerical values of the tensor charges: $\delta u=1.12$, $\delta d=-0.42$, and
$\delta s=-0.008$. In contrast to the axial charges, the tensor charges in our
model are closer to those of the nonrelativistic quark model, in particular,
the net number of the transversely polarized strange quarks in a transversely
polarized nucleon $\delta s$ is compatible with zero.
