In a rare move for a major restaurant chain operator, Sukiya’s nearly 2,000 outlets will be shut from 9am on Monday to 9am on Friday while steps will be taken to block the entry of pests and vermin.
Some outlets such as those in shopping centres will be excluded from the closure.
“We are taking the situation seriously,” the Tokyo-based company said in a statement.
According to Sukiya, a customer reported on Friday that a portion of a cockroach was found in a takeaway item from an outlet near JR Akishima Station in western Tokyo.
The person in charge of the restaurant apologised to the customer and gave them a refund. The outlet voluntarily stopped operating from Friday afternoon, according to Sukiya.
A week before, Sukiya announced that a rat had been discovered in a bowl of miso soup that was served at an outlet in Tottori in January.
Shares of dining giant Zensho Holdings, which owns Sukiya, fell as much as 7 per cent following the incident.
The chain took measures to improve hygiene, such as carrying out visual checks and educating its staff, across its outlets, but has opted to take even further measures.
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.
Food recalls are rare in Japan, a country with famously high sanitation standards, but food poisoning and recall incidents occasionally make headlines.