In recent years, Chinese restaurants have sprung up all over Japan, and more and more well-known Chinese restaurant chains have entered the Japanese market. The upward trend in the number of Chinese restaurants in Tokyo began 10 years ago, and in recent years, it has become more and more noticeable that more and more well-known Chinese restaurant chains have entered the Japanese market, such as Haidilao, Shaxian Snacks and Yellow Braised Chicken. These restaurants, which are popular in China, are also popular in Japan.
Since 2010, the number of Chinese restaurants in Tokyo has been increasing year by year. After entering the local market, many foreign restaurants will adjust and change according to the tastes of the locals in order to integrate into the market faster. These Chinese restaurant chains are doing the opposite, sourcing their ingredients and seasonings from China, and the food tastes basically the same as what you eat in China.
Thanks to the persistence of these restaurants, "Chinese cuisine, which was not specially adapted for the Japanese", gradually took its place in the market. These gourmet restaurants not only bring the taste of hometown to Chinese studying and working in Japan, but also give Japanese people a deeper understanding of authentic Chinese cuisine. China's "hot pot" culture has even set off a wave in Japan, where there are not only many Chinese chain brand hot pot restaurants in Tokyo, but also a variety of hot pot restaurants with different styles and distinctive characteristics run by Chinese in Japan.
Japan's Modern Economy conducted an in-depth analysis of these stores, and found that it was not only Chinese food that entered the Japanese market, but also Chinese corporate culture, which is completely different from Japanese companies.
Many years ago, Chinese people who went to work in Japan often took Japanese companies as their first choice. At that time, working in Japan was linked to "high wages and good living conditions". Until 2010, China's GDP surpassed that of Japan. Many young people no longer consider joining a Japanese company as a career goal. Some Chinese studying in Japan choose to join Chinese companies in Japan. Others directly choose to open a company in Japan, become their own boss, and bring China's successful business model to Japan.
Japanese catering is rooted in the Chinese market
According to a survey conducted by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun in late May this year, at least 730 new overseas stores opened by 100 major listed restaurants in Japan in 2021, an increase of more than 2% from 2020. According to the Japan Food Service Association, Japan's domestic restaurant market shrank by 15.1% in 2020. Due to the delay in vaccination, the coronavirus pandemic has been prolonged, and restaurants are still operating in the Tokyo metropolitan area due to reduced restaurant hours and alcohol restrictions.
According to data released by Japan's Nomura Research Institute, the scale of China's catering market decreased by 17% compared with 2019 in 2020, which was affected by the epidemic, but increased by 7% in January and February 2021 compared with the same period last year. Analysts believe that in the context of Japan's sluggish domestic recovery, the number of Japanese catering companies looking for growth space overseas is increasing, and China is their main destination.
Due to its geographical and cultural advantages, Japanese cuisine has been the fastest growing foreign cuisine in China for a long time. Statistics show that in 2015, the number of Japanese restaurants in the country was 23,000, and now this number may have exceeded 80,000.
In downtown shopping malls in Beijing or Shanghai, the proportion of Japanese restaurants accounts for almost 80%, much higher than Western food. There are a wide variety of dishes, including ramen, yakiniku, fast food, izakaya, and sushi dishes.
Well-known Japanese brands such as Shiqijia and Saizeriya have also become one of the most popular catering brands in China.
Chinese and Japanese cuisine, comparison of overseas models
The reason why Chinese restaurants have been able to gain a foothold in the Japanese market is not only because of the taste of the food, but also because of the advantages of Chinese companies and the charm of Chinese food culture.
Japanese restaurant companies have won a moment of popularity with more professional and orthodox products, but Japanese companies generally have traditional management models and inflexible decision-making mechanisms, and whether products and brands can better adapt to the needs of Chinese consumers also need to be explored.