Japan’s Sukiya food chain shuts almost all outlets after rat and cockroach contamination

TOKYO (AP) — A leading Japanese beef bowl chain said it is shutting down almost 2,000 outlets across the country from Monday after a rat and a bug were found in its food.

Sukiya has apologized to its customers and said it will carry out a deep clean of its stores over four days.

The company acknowledged that a rat was found in a miso soup served to a customer at one of its outlets in Tottori, southwestern Japan. It said an investigation found that the rodent entered a refrigerator through a crack in a door.

In a separate incident, a bug was found in food at a Tokyo outlet on Friday, Sukiya said.

“We deeply apologize to the customer who reported the case to us over the tremendous pain and trouble,” a company statement said. “We also apologize to all our customers who patronize our restaurants and related people for causing tremendous trouble and concerns.”

Sukiya said it takes the complaints “very seriously” and decided to carry out a nationwide clean of its outlets.

The company, which is owned by Japanese food industry giant Zensho Holdings, operates nearly 2,000 outlets in Japan and about 660 stores overseas, including China, Singapore and Mexico.