Japan became McDonald's first market in Asia.
The first Japanese McDonald's opened in Tokyo's Ginza district in 1971. The venture was created through a partnership involving Den Fujita and McDonald's, and it adapted the American fast-food concept to a major Japanese commercial setting.
Japan was an important branding milestone because McDonald's began developing a recognizably global identity while also adjusting products, restaurant operations, and marketing for local customers. The Tokyo opening followed the chain's first international expansion into Canada in 1967.
Hong Kong is a common mix-up because it opened its first McDonald's in 1975 and became one of the company's best-known early Asian markets. Singapore and South Korea entered the McDonald's system later still, so they were not the first Asian market.