Japan's restaurant sales extend a 13-month growth run in August, but a food tax cut could hit dining-in hardest
Japan's restaurant industry grew all-store sales 4.9% year on year in August, extending a run of gains that has now lasted at least 13 straight months, as Obon travel and rising per-customer spend outweighed typhoon-hit weekends — but the Japan Foodservice Association itself is warning that a proposed cut to the food consumption tax rate would hit eat-in dining hardest.
Japan's restaurant industry grew all-store sales 4.9% year on year in August, according to the Japan Foodservice Association (JF), whose monthly survey covers 229 member companies operating 36,982 outlets. The association's own comparison table shows sales have now risen year on year in every month for at least the past 13 months running.