Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Japan's fast-food chain Sukiya will shut nearly all of its roughly 2,000 stores nationwide for four days from Monday following recent incidents of customers finding a rodent in a bowl of miso soup and a bug in another meal, it said on its website on Saturday.
Sukiya, the country's biggest beef bowl chain owned by dining giant Zensho Holdings, apologized on March 22 that miso soup served at one of its locations in western Japan in January had contained a rat. Zensho shares fell as much as 7% on March 24.
In a Saturday statement, Sukiya said it had also suffered a second contamination incident on Friday, when another store in suburban Tokyo served a meal containing a bug.
As a result, it had decided to close all Japanese restaurant locations, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday morning and Friday morning this week to take measures to prevent further infestations.
"We take very seriously the fact that this incident has occurred," Sukiya said. "We deeply apologize to our customers."
As of the end of 2024, Sukiya operated 1,965 stores in Japan, according to Zensho's latest filing, exceeding those of rival beef bowl chains Yoshinoya, which had about 1,250, and Matsuya, with about 1,100.
Sukiya also operates around 650 stores overseas in regions such as China, Southeast Asia an Latin America.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nikkei Asia
2 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Record 50 Japanese firms hit with activist shareholder proposals
TOKYO -- Activist investors have targeted at least 50 Japanese companies with shareholder proposals so far in 2025, a record high for this point in the year, amid a wider push for corporate reforms. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking compiled this tally from convocation notices issued by companies that close their fiscal years in March. The number of activist proposals increased by four from last year, according to the notices received through Friday.
Nikkei Asia
2 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan's SBI invests $50m in US stablecoin issuer Circle
TOKYO -- Japanese financial services group SBI Holdings is investing around $50 million in Circle Internet Group, issuer of the dollar-backed USDC stablecoin, in hopes of helping the virtual currency find a wider audience in Japan. On Friday U.S. time, SBI will buy about 5% of the 34 million shares Circle issued in an initial public offering, acquiring a roughly 0.7% overall stake in the company. Circle shares debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Kyodo News
5 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Japan calls for tariff rethink in talks with U.S. commerce chief
KYODO NEWS - 10 hours ago - 12:34 | All, World, Japan Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa reiterated during a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday that higher import duties imposed by Washington should be reconsidered, as the countries continue negotiations toward a win-win deal. Akazawa is visiting the U.S. capital for the third straight week for another round of tariff talks at the ministerial level, hoping to smooth the way for a meeting of the countries' leaders in mid-June. Before his planned talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday, Akazawa sat down with Lutnick for nearly two hours to "strongly" urge the United States to reconsider the wave of tariff measures announced by President Donald Trump, according to the Japanese government. Akazawa and Lutnick discussed cooperation on trade, nontariff barriers and economic security, the Japanese side said. While continuing to demand the elimination of the higher tariffs, Japan is also weighing whether to accept a cut in the rates, with the United States resisting a full removal of the duties. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump plan to hold a meeting around the time of the three-day Group of Seven summit in Canada starting June 15. After meeting with Bessent and Lutnick last week, Akazawa said they had agreed their talks were "making progress." Akazawa, who is scheduled to leave Washington on Saturday, has declined to provide details, including in which areas progress has been made. Under Trump's so-called reciprocal tariff regime, announced April 2, almost all countries in the world have been hit by a baseline duty of 10 percent, with Japan facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent for a total rate of 24 percent. Along with other countries, Japan has also been affected by the Trump administration's additional 25 percent tariff on automobiles and other sector-based levies implemented on national security grounds. Related coverage: Trump's steel tariff hike not raised in Japan-U.S. talks: negotiator Japan, U.S. agree tariff talks making progress toward deal Japan PM says mutual understanding "deepened" with Trump over tariffs
