McDonald's Japan to hike prices for third time in 10 months

Not going there anymore (once a year maybe to feel the taste)

Healthier food is recommended

Will the BoJ staff perhaps be luncheoning there to celebrating the defeat of Japan's greatest enemy, deflation?

Forget Mcgarbage..

MOSBurger is the best...

Mos burger? Good lord.

The Japanese operator of McDonald’s restaurants has announced its third price hike in less than a year in the latest sign of compounding inflationary pressures on the nation’s consumers.

Some people cannot go without mah baaaga but another point is what about the subsidies restaurant chains got for slightly limiting their hours during coronavirus waves and the massive budget that went through with subsidies to firms to "offset inflationary pressures"?

These massive wealth transfers exclusively to corporations are conveniently forgotten almost immediately and the public is left to cope with the full force of the economic variations.

Homemade burgers are the best burgers.

Raise prices. How about a wage hike as well? No? Ok.

Forget Mcgarbage..

MOSBurger is the best...

2 cheeks of the same backside. Both are crap. Give me Burger King any day OR homemade burgers.

Watch "Super Size Me" and you'll never eat fast 'food' again.

I’m sure McDonald’s Japan will still report solid profits for the heat. Confused about the currency rates being cited though - the yen is in a far better position now than 6 months ago. And how is the cheeseburger raise more than a Big Mac raise? Feels oddly like inflation being s convenient reason to just raise prices to be honest.

Price hikes means people eating fewer burgers, which will eventually reduce the number of greenhouse-gas emitting cattle. Good for the environment.

Watch "Super Size Me" and you'll never eat fast 'food' again.

While I’m not arguing McDonalds is healthy, Super Size me was an extremely manipulative documentary. Morgan was a massive alcoholic at the time of filming and attributed all the negative health results to eating fast food while completely omitting his alcohol dependency since the age of 13

As always, "healthy" food costs more than fast food, but it's fast food that keeps the world running!

I stopped buying burgers and make my own, and wow! It's amazing what you can do when you have the internet for ideas! I now even make my own french fries!

McCr@p burgers....I never eat that junk....triple the price idc!

Damn. Oh hang on, I don't eat mc crap anyway. Happy days then.

naturally, the price hike is in order to increase wages

-Pangloss

Doesn’t the cow meat come from 3rf world banana republics in South America ?

Prices keep going up and salaries keep going down. It’s all doom and gloom for the Japanese economy.

My heart bleeds for all those affected

Hike the price as much as you like, healthy and intelligent people will never consume that junk.

Food producers are raising prices just because they now have an excuse. Nothing to do with currency fluctuations or wage increases. It's all about the bottom line.

And how is the cheeseburger raise more than a Big Mac raise? Feels oddly like inflation being s convenient reason to just raise prices to be honest.

Prices have risen for their processed products across the board. They don't apply a percentage price rise in price across their entire menu equally. They have a marketing team that worked out that they could rise the price of the cheeseburger and people (probably kids) would still buy them in the quantities that bring in profit. Big Macs were already expensive, so if they rise the price too much demand will take a hit and profits fall. Its about keeping a balance between prices and bringing customers in.

And remember that a cheese burger is basically a smaller version of a Big Mac with a slightly different sauce and less ingredients and a non-sesame seed bun. I am guessing they will bring back cheeseburger sets at a slight discount compared to what it would be like buying each item separately.

In a country where good, well balanced, healthy and nutritious food is easily available, why do people eat fast food burgers?

It doesn't make any kind of sense.

In a country where good, well balanced, healthy and nutritious food is easily available, why do people eat fast food burgers?

Because fast food burgers are even more easily available. Convenience is king for many people, and MdD's Japan is quick and easy.

Bento from the combini is much quicker and easier than McDonald's. So that's not the reason.

Oh yes, I forgot people don't like variety and only eat one thing all the time without ever diverging. My bad. Oops.

Finally a price increase in 2023 that won't affect me or my family!

Finally a price increase in 2023 that won't affect me or my family!

Logical fallacy?

I hardly ever eat at McDonalds. but I don't see the need for people to criticize others who do. Also, I don't think a lot of those combini bentos are that healthy! Lots of deep fried stuff, white rice, lets tamper down the rhetoric!

I don't think a lot of those combini bentos are that healthy

I don't know how they rank in comparison to McDonalds, but I would imagine that they are fairly similar, though you probably would get more vitamins from a bento. But the deep fried food and large quantity of rice have got to be near as bad for you as McDonalds.

Last time I had McDonalds in the USA, breakfast was over 1300 yen a person.

I will stick with my onigiri and green tea for 220 yen.

@gintonicToday  

As yilday says for a number of companies it seems inflation is a very convenient excuse to jack up prices again even as sizes have already shrunk.

Indeed. Actually, they just increase their profit margin and will make record profit this year. Buy some stocks of the company if you can.

280 yen is what I paid for a Big Mac or Yoshinoya when just arrived in Japan

410 to 450 yen for a Big Mac is a big price rise.

However, it'll still be cheap in USD terms compared to other countries in the Big Mac index by "The Economist". A Big Mac in the US will be 600 yen plus, even with the yen recovering.

My kids like McDs so I go most months. The Samurai one with bacon isn't too bad. Its much better value than the "gourmet" burgers I see everywhere for 1200 yen plus. I don't like that sauce on Big Macs, its too cloying, but I note that two regular McD patties is still only 85g or so of beef. Most gourmet burgers will be quarter pound (112g) or more, making them far more artery-clogging/planet-destroying/gluttony-encouraging than a big Mac. The ski resort staple of katsu-curry is also typically 1500 calories, making it more unhealthy than McDonalds.

My favourite cheap fast food chain is the (frozen) sashimi rice bowls from Don Maru. I quite like Marugame Seimen udon too. We were in the supermarket yesterday and I noticed that single servings of udon noodles, the classic cheap food in Japan, now cost 50 yen. They used to be under 20 yen four or five years ago.

Stop eating McDonalds, That will get them to lower their prices.

Bad move! People buy McDonald's because it is cheap, convenient, and relatively tasty. The exchange rate is killing them, so customers are going less or buying less. Raising prices will simply dig a bigger hole for McDonald's because their primary customers do not have a lot of disposable income! Customers will simply spend their money at cheaper probably domestic alternatives!

The exchange rate is killing them, so customers are going less or buying less

Really? What are the numbers?

Last time I had a mac? Sorry I just can't remember.

I vaguely remember McD slashing their prices here to help Japan secure the 1998 Nagano Olympics (or was it the 2002 World Cup?) as the cost of a Big Mac was one of the factors used when choosing a host - and in the early '90s Japan was considered prohibitively expensive for overseas visitors.

How things have changed.

I will stick with my onigiri and green tea for 220 yen.

You need more protein.

Well, they know that they just can. Even after raising prices the third time they’ll still be quite some cheaper than almost every other burger chain or smaller burger crafter who all have already moon prices for quite a while. And your complaining about being not healthy or saving money…well, you won’t find so much higher quality at the same prices and when you make a diet instead you’ll have higher expenses for new sets of clothes and so on. It’s all balancing out somehow, you’ll surely see and learn that one day sooner or later.

Bad move! People buy McDonald's because it is cheap, convenient, and relatively tasty. The exchange rate is killing them, so customers are going less or buying less. Raising prices will simply dig a bigger hole for McDonald's because their primary customers do not have a lot of disposable income! Customers will simply spend their money at cheaper probably domestic alternatives!

They crunch the number before making these decisions. They may sell less units but they think that price increase will more than compensate for that. They are rational. If they did not believe that they can increase their profit by raising prices they would not do it. Of course these are just simulations and they may end up being wrong. They would then cut the price again. This is call pricing strategy. They try to find the optimal price optimizing their profit.

McDonald's is great.

McDonald's Japan to hike prices for third time in 10 months

Are they the only game in town?

If yes, oh well. Deal with it.

If no, go, anywhere else. Vote with your wallet, it's pretty simple.

Back in the early 00s, McDonalds in Japan would have a special like every Tuesday hamburgers were 29yen and cheeseburgers were 39yen.

I would buy 10 and give them out to homeless.

They were very happy and thankful.

oh have times have changed.

FACT: At least 30% of comments on any news story about McDonalds will be from people with nothing else to contribute other than to proudly announce that they don’t eat at McDonalds.

Jesus! 140 yen to 200 is a 70% jump! So this what Abe and Kuroda wanted. And yes, Kishida will (urge) companies to raise wages again.

They are still valid comments.

"To Eat Or Not Eat"

BOYCOTT

Any burger that has chemicals added to it keep your stomach from naturally rejecting it isn’t worth eating regardless of the price.

McDonald’s food is mostly unhealthy. Obentos are interesting. They are kind of half healthy and half unhealthy. The amount of fried stuff with white rice I see is concerning for health. It will be interesting to see how the health of Japanese is in the future as many eat obentos on a regular basis.

Do people still eat that........stuff ??!!

Another one of their new marketing schemes is to charge the same price for take in and take out. I was worried about eating in after I had to take out order in the cashier is shown me that it cost the same price as 10% tax, for real.

@Speed

Jesus! 140 yen to 200 is a 70% jump! 

Not 70 % but 43 %. ＋70 % would mean 238 JPY. This being said I agree with you that is it a huge increase.

I stay away from the French fries but I will eat at Mac once a month or so. No fear.

And I will pay the extra whatever yen.

The number of sales will go down because of this price hike but they will still recover or make more money from the addicted customers through this increase. Currently most people actually kill time in McDonalds sitting while spending a mere 120-150¥ and make use of the tables for at least an hour or so especially in winter when they can’t be outdoors. The smell of the food from McDonald’s will always pull people in. Even though the prices for McDonald’s keep rising, it’s still much much cheaper than other fast food retailers and some burger joints which charge like 800-1500¥ for burgers which are of standard taste or of bad taste for burger enthusiasts! Much better to make burgers at home than these overpriced burger joints in Tokyo!

As I have cut down on my alcohol consumption, I now find that my mind is too sharp to allow me to order whatever it is that passes for food at the company!

Lovin' it.......NOT!

Wow no happy meals!

McDonald’s rocks!

140 yen to 200 is a 70% jump!

No it is not. Better pull out that calcularor one more time. 42.85 % is more like it.

McDonald’s rocks!

Well, maybe they use better quality cardboard in the hamburgers sold in Japan :/

While I’m not arguing McDonalds is healthy, Super Size me was an extremely manipulative documentary. Morgan was a massive alcoholic at the time of filming and attributed all the negative health results to eating fast food while completely omitting his alcohol dependency since the age of 13

Spurlock may have had an alcohol dependency, but his blood testing and other health numbers speak for themselves. You even saw the doctor say he was in excellent health before he started the "McDiet". So was he also binge drinking during that time? Why did he suddenly put on weight during the McDiet? Was it because he wasn't drinking?

Haven't eaten that slop this century.

The Spurlock experiment was bollocks because if you ANYTHING every day for a month, you're gonna get sick.

I realize comparing countries may not be the best methodology, but in my home country the standard cheesburger is the equivalent of 315 yen including tax. Big Mac 653 yen.

Japan looks like a bargain.

Save yourself and eat somewhere healthy and sustainable. And also spend your money in places which contribute back into Japan's society. Like in many countries MacDonalds tax paperwork would make interesting reading in Japan.

Watch "Super Size Me" and you'll never eat fast 'food' again.

While junk food is not exactly healthy, as the name suggests, a lot of what's in that film turn out to have been fictionalised. Severally studies attempted to recreate the experiment and none showed the physical impact that the diet was meant to have.