Japanese conveyer-belt sushi chain building strong following in China

Japanese conveyor-belt sushi chain Sushiro has been building a strong following in China despite Beijing's total ban on Japanese seafood imports, with its affordable prices appealing to belt-tightening consumers amid an economic slump and some queuing for hours to enter an outlet.

When its first store in Beijing opened last August, some customers waited for more than 10 hours to eat sushi items priced at a minimum 10 yuan ($1.4) per dish. On recent weekends, people still had to wait for as long as eight hours, according to the chain operator.

On Jan. 29, some customers lined up for more than three hours to dine at the fourth Sushiro outlet in the Chinese capital, which started operations on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

"Many high-end Japanese restaurants have closed down amid an economic slump, but (Sushiro) has filled the void of market needs, offering sushi dishes at reasonable prices," said a 37-year-old Beijing customer who visited the restaurant with his family.

As China has yet to lift the blanket seafood import ban, which was imposed in August 2023 over the ocean discharges of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Sushiro outlets use non-Japanese ingredients.

Since the chain opened its first outlet in China in 2021 in the southern province of Guangdong, the number of restaurants had increased to 49 in the Asian country as of January this year.

"We've suffered a lot from negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the treated water issue, but now we are well-received," said Kazunari Matsuda, a senior official of the local Sushiro operating unit, adding the company is considering opening more outlets in China.

Other Japanese conveyor-belt chains such as Hama Sushi and Kura Sushi also operate in China.

© KYODO