| 1971 |
McDonald's Japan opened in 1971, and family restaurants originating in Japan began to open one after another, making dining out with family gradually become a daily routine. |
| 1971 |
50th anniversary of founding! |
| 1971 |
McDonald's Japan opened in 1971. |
| 1971-05 |
Company establishment (now: McDonald's Japan Holdings Inc.) |
| 1973-03 |
Launched a campaign unified under the theme 'McDonald's that does delicious things.' |
| 1975-12 |
Annual sales across all stores exceeded 10 billion yen. |
| 1976-02 |
Opened Makimachi store (Okinawa Prefecture), the first franchise agreement store in Japan. |
| 1977-03 |
The Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) was established, and McDonald's beef patty was certified as premium. |
| 1978-10 |
POS system was introduced. |
| 1980-05 |
A campaign was launched with the unified theme "McDonald's of the World". |
| 1981-07 |
Opened the Yokohama Motomachi store, the 300th store (Kanagawa Prefecture). |
| 1982-12 |
Total annual sales exceeded 70.2 billion yen, becoming the top in the restaurant industry. |
| 1984-02 |
Chicken McNuggets® nationwide sales began. |
| 1985-02 |
Breakfast menu was introduced. |
| 1987-11 |
"Thank You Set" won the Popular Award of the New Word/Trendy Word Grand Prize!! |
| 1989-03 |
Sold Teriyaki McBurger. |
| 1991-12 |
Achieved annual sales of 200 billion yen, the first in the restaurant industry. |
| 1993-07 |
Opened the Mizuhotou store, the 1000th store (Aichi Prefecture). |
| 1995-08 |
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the All Japan Elementary School Softball Tournament, the "McDonald's Tournament" was organized and a national tournament was held. |
| 1996-07-20 |
July 20 was designated as "Hamburger Day". |
| 1999-04 |
Established the Donald McDonald House Charities Japan Den Fujita Foundation (now the Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Donald McDonald House Charities Japan). |
| 2000-02 |
"Weekdays Smile" program started: on weekdays, hamburgers at 65 yen and cheeseburgers at 80 yen. |
| 2001-07 |
Listed on the JASDAQ market. |
| 2002 |
2002 Asia Excitement! 'Rich Delicious Karubi Mac'. |
| 2002-03 |
Fujita T. was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors. Yagi Yasuyuki was appointed President. |
| 2003-09 |
Global campaign "I'm lovin' it" started. |
| 2004-03 |
Harada Oyuki was appointed Vice Chairman and CEO. |
| 2005-02 |
Donald McDonald House Japan No.3 "Kochi House" opened (Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture). |
| 2006-01 |
Ebi Filéo® has been introduced as a regular menu item. |
| 2007-01-14 |
The limited‑time sale of "Mega Mac" was a record hit, setting a new all‑store sales record of 2.37 billion yen on Sunday, January 14. |
| 2007-03 |
Achieved new sales records for daily, monthly, and yearly categories. |
| 2008-02 |
Enjoy blissful coffee time for 100 yen at McDonald’s with the launch of "Premium Roast Coffee". |
| 2009-02 |
McDonald’s became the official partner of Japan’s national team for the World Baseball Classic™ and supports the team through the "Support Campaign". |
| 2010-01 |
The "Big America" campaign was launched, featuring limited‑time sales of "Texas Burger", "New York Burger", "California Burger", and "Hawaiian Burger". |
| 2010-08 |
In August 2010, a record monthly all‑store sales total of 5.1392 billion yen was achieved. |
| 2010-09 |
The new DS game collaborated with the popular Pokémon, and a "Pokémon flagship store" opened for a limited time. |
| 2010-11 |
Implemented the charity campaign "Happy Ring Project". |
| 2010-12 |
The official McDonald’s app for smartphones became available starting in December. |
| 2011 |
McDonald's Japan also launched various campaigns to meet the diverse needs of consumers, but failed to capture those needs, leading to a gradual decline in performance from 2011. In 2015, it fell into a significant deficit. From then on, it strengthened initiatives to reflect customer voices to regain trust and worked on rebuilding the brand. |
| 2011 |
Performance gradually deteriorated from 2011. |
| 2011-04 |
McCafé® Specialty Coffee has been introduced to about 2,500 stores nationwide. |
| 2012 |
The second Abe administration aimed to escape the deflationary economy and promoted 'Abenomics.' The Japanese economy slowly moved toward recovery. In a stable society with no major economic fluctuations, people's values became increasingly diverse, and various dining formats such as solo yakiniku restaurants and salad specialty stores emerged in the food service industry. |
| 2012-03 |
The activity of presenting safety whistles to newly enrolled children in all 47 prefectures celebrates its 10th anniversary, with a total of 874,260 whistles distributed to first‑grade elementary students nationwide. |
| 2013-06 |
Implemented the "BITE! Quarter Pounder®" project, opening a new world for Quarter Pounder®. |
| 2014 |
2014 Brazil Shock! 'Wild Beef Burger Onion Rings & Cheese'. |
| 2014-03 |
Sara L. Casanova became President and CEO. |
| 2015 |
In 2015, it fell into a large deficit. |
| 2015-04 |
The 40th anniversary of Donald McDonald House charity promotion campaign "Smile Socks Campaign" was implemented; "Smile Socks" were provided to those who donated 300 yen or more at McDonald’s stores nationwide. |
| 2016-02-02 |
For the first time in McDonald’s Japan history, a "Name‑Requested Burger" was sold for a limited time starting Tuesday, February 2. From 5,016,926 applications, "Northern Goodness Beef (Gyutto) Burger" was chosen as the official name. |
| 2017-01-06 |
The first McDonald’s general election was held. The Double Cheeseburger ranked first, and the promised "Triple Cheeseburger" was sold for a limited time starting February 1. |
| 2018-01-15 |
A declaration to further improve taste: The first wave of 2018! The world’s best barista fully supervised the first renewal of "Café Latte". Starting Monday, January 15, it was offered nationwide at all stores, starting at 150 yen for the S size. |
| 2018-11-15 |
The "Happy Ribon" project recycles toys from Happy Meals®. About 1.27 million toys were recycled into trays! Starting Thursday, November 15, 2018, approximately 100,000 recycled trays were sequentially introduced to all stores. |
| 2019 |
New services catering to each customer with diverse values were launched, and in 2019, the company achieved its highest sales since founding. |
| 2019 |
Received the 'Special Award' at the Green Logistics Partnership Conference in the first year of Reiwa. |
| 2019 |
In 2019, it achieved its highest sales since founding. |
| 2019-03 |
Nisshōho became President and CEO of McDonald’s Japan Inc. |
| 2019-10 |
Uniforms are renewed for the first time in 6 years! More diverse designs are being introduced sequentially at stores nationwide from October 2019. |
| 2019-11 |
Japan McDonald's received the 'Mother's Selection Grand Prize 2019'. |
| 2020-01 |
Three actions to respond to diverse needs and provide a more comfortable store experience: McDonald's next-generation service 'Future Store Experience': Expanding to all 47 prefectures. |
| 2020-02-05 |
Three rice burgers: 'Gohan Teriyaki,' 'Gohan Bacon Lettuce,' and 'Gohan Chicken Filet-O®': Limited sale from Wednesday, February 5. |
| 2020-04-08 |
New 'Samurai Mac'! : 'Seared Soy Sauce Double Thick Beef' : 'Seared Soy Sauce Bacon Tomato Thick Beef': Limited sale from Wednesday, April 8. |
| 2020-06-24 |
Karubi Mac from Japan appears! Limited sale from Wednesday, June 24. |
| 2020-08 |
Online workshop on sustainability with students: 'JSL Youth Club with McDonald's'. |
| 2020-10 |
Full-scale introduction of electric bikes at MDS: Strengthening safety and security measures: Launch of 'Digital Food Safety' using tablets: Sequential deployment at stores nationwide from October. |
| 2021-01-06 |
Special price of 550 yen for Big Mac set for a limited time. |
| 2021-01-26 |
Starting from January 26. |
| 2021-01-28 |
Launch of 50th Anniversary Website. |
| 2021-03 |
Yasushi Nii becomes President and CEO. |
| 2021-04-07 |
'Samurai Mac' returns as a new thick regular after 3 years! : Sales start from Wednesday, April 7. |
| 2021-05-26 |
Five types of 'Teriyaki' burgers debut! : Limited sale from Wednesday, May 26. |
| 2021-06-23 |
Limited sale of 'Juicy Chicken Red Pepper,' 'Texas Burger 2021,' and 'Triple Cheese Burger' from Wednesday, June 23. |
| 2021-07-20 |
Japan McDonald's new TV commercial 'The Reason I Am Here' for families: Broadcast begins on Hamburger Day, July 20. |
| 2021-12-24 |
Due to delays in potato imports from North America caused by global logistics disruptions, water disasters, and bad weather, all stores limited 'McFry Potatoes®' to S size only. (December 24-30, 2021, and January 9-February 6, 2022). |
| 2022 |
2022 Qatar! 'Kebab-style Chicken Burger'. |
| 2022-01 |
The toys in the Happy Meal are further evolved! Expert in child development, Ms. Yoshiko Sawai, supervises the toys in the Happy Meal®️. Providing "toys" that bring joy to play |
| 2022-03 |
The sustainable society approach and initiatives of McDonald's Japan are published as "Sustainability Report 2021". |
| 2022-04 |
'Samurai Mac' is very popular! One year since becoming a regular item, a total of 80 million meals sold with 2 products! |
| 2022-05 |
Original drama "The Samurai Became a McDonald's Clerk" emphasizing the importance of working as oneself, just as they are, airs on TV. |
| 2022-07 |
The first store of 'McCafé by Barista®', where dedicated baristas serve authentic cafe coffee, opened on July 23, 2012 (Monday) inside Harajuku Omotesando store, celebrating its 10th anniversary. |
| 2022-09 |
Order & pay via official app to make use of drive-thru more convenient! 'Drive-thru Mobile Order' starts at stores nationwide. |
| 2022-10-07 |
Paper straws, wooden spoons, forks, knives, and stirrers will be sequentially introduced at stores nationwide from October 7 (Friday). |
| 2022-10-26 |
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, three new burger products inspired by past tournaments and this year's event will be sold for a limited time starting October 26 (Wednesday). |
| 2022-11-06 |
On November 6 (Sunday), McDonald's charity event 'Blue McDonald's Day (McHappy Day)' will be held at McDonald's stores nationwide. |
| 2022-12 |
McDonald's official app integrates McDonald's exclusive delivery service 'McDelivery Service' feature. |
