McDonald's opened its first restaurant in Japan in 1971.
The first Japanese McDonald's opened in Tokyo's Ginza district on July 20, 1971. Den Fujita, a Japanese businessman, helped bring the brand to Japan through a partnership with McDonald's Corporation.
The Ginza location adapted the American fast-food format to a dense urban shopping district. Its opening marked an important stage in McDonald's international branding because the company was no longer expanding only into nearby English-speaking markets.
Japan also became associated with localized menu development, showing how McDonald's could preserve its core visual identity while adapting products and marketing to local customers. The Golden Arches remained the central international symbol.