Japan became McDonald’s first Asian market when the chain opened there in 1971.
McDonald’s entered Japan through a partnership involving Den Fujita, founder of the Japanese retail company Dentsu? No: Fujita was associated with the trading company Japan McDonald’s. The first Japanese restaurant opened in Tokyo’s Ginza district in 1971.
The Japanese business combined McDonald’s recognizable global branding with local business practices and menu adaptations. Japan became one of the company’s most important international markets.
China was not McDonald’s first Asian market. The company opened its first restaurant in mainland China in 1990, nearly two decades after the Japanese launch.