Kura Sushi opens flagship in Tokyo's Asakusa with tech to handle 104 languages
Conveyor belt sushi chain Kura Sushi Inc. opened a flagship restaurant Wednesday in Asakusa, a popular tourist spot in Tokyo. Decorating the interior of the restaurant with ukiyo-e woodblock prints and other items of traditional Japanese culture, Kura Sushi hopes to attract tourists from abroad. The ...
Restaurant operator Skylark to end 24-hour operations by April
Major restaurant chain operator Skylark Holdings Co. said Monday it will end around-the-clock operations by April due to a labor shortage and falling demand for such services. The operator of restaurant chains such as Gusto and Jonathan's will also shorten late night operating hours at ...
Five other Japanese lawmakers may be involved in casino bribery scandal
An adviser to a Chinese gambling operator that is under investigation for allegedly bribing lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto, formerly a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, over a casino resort project, has told investigators that the company also gave cash to another five lawmakers, a ...
Kirin restaurant to introduce smartphone order, payment service
Restaurant operator Kirin City Co. will introduce a new service that allows customers to place orders and make payments using smartphones, according to parent Kirin Holdings Co. The service will be introduced at Craft Marche by Kirin City, a craft beer restaurant to be opened ...
MUFG Bank will set up a joint company with human resources services provider Recruit Holdings Co. to launch a smartphone-based cashless payment service, it was learned Wednesday. The core banking arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. will seek to utilize Recruit's client base of ...
Tokyo's restaurants again boast world's most Michelin stars in 2020 guide
The capital once again led its global peers, but one of the city’s most famous restaurants is no longer listed in the prestigious guidebook.
Only 895 granted blue-collar visas since April, immigration agency admits
The immigration service had issued just 895 working permits as of early November under the new visa system for skilled blue-collar foreign workers, a far lower number than had originally been forecast for this time, agency officials said Wednesday. The program, which was introduced in ...
Reusable straws catching on in Japan but yet to see popular groundswell
For some, an ocean full of plastic is the last straw. That's why a growing number of environmentally concerned restaurants in Japan are doing away with single-use plastic straws in favor of reusable silicone and stainless steel ones as a way to combat the global ...
Seven-Eleven Japan to end some 24-hour operations amid labor crunch
Seven-Eleven Japan Co. is ending 24-hour operations at some outlets, becoming the first major convenience store operator to scale back around-the-clock hours to address Japan's labor crunch. Eight stores will begin cutting back on their operating hours on Nov. 1, because they are finding it ...
Many stores and restaurants in Japan close as they feel effects of Typhoon Hagibis
Many stores and restaurants in wide swaths of central and northeastern Japan suspended operations Tuesday after Typhoon Hagibis caused flooding and disrupted supply chains. Convenience store operator FamilyMart Co. closed 35 outlets, while rival Seven-Eleven Japan Co., a unit of Seven & I Holdings Co., ...
Mos Food Services Inc. said Tuesday that it will begin a program in 2020 to help Vietnamese acquire a Japanese visa for foreign workers with designated skills. The Tokyo-based hamburger chain operator will partner with the national Danang Vocational Tourism College to train some 350 ...
Japan's Fair Trade Commission probes restaurant booking websites over alleged strong-arm tactics
The Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation into whether the operators of major restaurant search and booking websites in the country have imposed unreasonable conditions on participant eateries. FTC Secretary-General Akinori Yamada announced the launch of the investigation during a news conference Wednesday. He said ...
