Rat in the soup, insect in the bowl – more than 1,900 Sukiya restaurants to close in Japan

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 04. 01. 10:11

An unpleasant incident has shaken one of Japan’s best-known fast food chains: Sukiya, a company specializing in gyūdon (beef rice bowls), will close almost 2,000 of its restaurants nationwide between March 31 and April 4. The drastic move comes after contamination was found in food at two different locations – in one, an insect was found on a customer’s plate, and in the other, a rat was found on a customer’s plate – writes Pénzcentrum.

Scandal over miso soup

The scandal began in January, when a customer found a rat carcass in his miso soup in Tottori, western Japan. Photos and reports spread quickly on social media, but the company only officially acknowledged the incident at the end of March. It later emerged that the contamination may have gotten into the soup because an employee failed to perform the necessary checks before serving it.

Another incident in the Tokyo suburbs

The company suffered another blow on the last Friday of March, when an insect was found in food at a restaurant in the Tokyo suburbs. The restaurant was immediately closed and the affected customer was given a refund. The company has ordered an immediate inspection, pest control and disinfection of the premises.

Nationwide cleaning campaign

Following the two incidents, Sukiya management has decided to temporarily close all of its Japanese restaurants as a precaution to carry out thorough cleaning and disinfection. This will leave almost 2,000 restaurants across Japan closed between March 31 and April 4.

The company apologized for the incident in a statement and on social media, stressing that it will pay greater attention to food safety and the hygiene of its restaurants in the future.