After two consecutive serious food safety incidents, the Japanese government decided to close the entire Sukiya restaurant chain, except for a few branches located in shopping centers, for four days, from the morning of March 31 to the morning of April 4, in order to thoroughly address this problem.
A representative of Sukiya has acknowledged the seriousness of the incident and deeply apologized to all customers. This is an action that demonstrates the receptiveness and responsibility of the largest beef rice restaurant chain in Japan, owned by the giant food corporation Zensho Holdings.
Sukiya, Japan's largest gyudon, or beef bowl, restaurant chain, has announced a temporary closure following an insect infestation at one of its locations in suburban Tokyo.
The incident began late last week when the company publicly apologized to consumers for an unfortunate incident: a rat was found in a bowl of miso soup served at one of its branches in western Japan. The incident caused a wave of public outrage, sending Zensho's shares down 7%.
Not stopping there, on March 29, Sukiya continued to report another incident at a store in the suburbs of Tokyo. This time, the product served to customers contained insects. The restaurant quickly apologized to customers for the "great inconvenience and concern" caused by the incident, and pledged to strengthen quality control and hygiene measures.
Sukiya temporarily closed the two affected restaurants as soon as they received reports of the incidents, allowing for inspections and pest control. However, it was not until late March that they officially confirmed the miso soup incident, despite images of the incident having been widely circulated on social media since January.
Apologizing for the "great inconvenience and concern caused," Sukiya said in a statement that most of its branches would be closed to address pollution and insect infestation issues.
In a statement on March 22, Sukiya explained that the cause of the incident in Tottori may have been due to the staff not checking the soup bowls carefully before serving customers. They also confirmed that no other customers were affected by the incident. However, after the latest incident in Tokyo, Sukiya has refunded the customer and is investigating the cause.
These food safety incidents have caused a wave of outrage on Japanese social media, with many customers expressing concerns about Sukiya’s hygiene control, especially since the restaurant chain has nearly 2,000 stores in the country and hundreds of branches abroad.
Under pressure from public opinion, Sukiya posted an apology on social network X on April 1, pledging to do everything possible to maintain a clean and safe environment. However, many people still question the restaurant chain's transparency when they only confirmed the rat in miso soup incident after nearly two months.
The company also said that stores that did not experience problems would also be closed at a later date to implement similar measures.
Having to close nearly 2,000 stores for several days will certainly have a big impact on Sukiya's revenue. Moreover, it will seriously damage customer confidence, which may cause them to turn to rival gyudon chains like Yoshinoya, Japan's second-largest beef bowl chain with 1,259 stores.
Sukiya’s parent company, Zensho Holdings, is under intense pressure to improve hygiene standards and effectively handle the media crisis. If timely corrective measures are not taken, the Sukiya brand risks losing its leading position in the gyudon market.
As of the end of 2024, Sukiya has established its leading position in the beef bowl restaurant market in Japan with a large network of 1,965 stores. This number far exceeds that of its two direct competitors, Yoshinoya, with about 1,250 stores, and Matsuya, with about 1,100 stores. This superiority not only demonstrates Sukiya's strong scale of operations, but also reflects the preference and trust of Japanese consumers for this brand.
Not only stopping at the domestic market, Sukiya also expanded its presence to the international market, with about 650 stores operating in regions such as China, Southeast Asia and Latin America. This presence shows Sukiya's ambition and global development strategy, and affirms the brand's position on the international culinary map. Expanding the market abroad not only brings economic benefits to Sukiya, but also contributes to promoting Japanese culinary culture to international friends.
However, the recent food safety incident has posed a major challenge for Sukiya. Having to close a series of domestic branches and facing a wave of public outrage could seriously affect the reputation and position of this brand. Sukiya needs to take drastic measures to fix the problem and regain the trust of customers to maintain its leading position in the market.
