McDonald’s in Japan Hit by Systems Outage, Closing 30% of Stores

By Mia Glass and Akemi Terukina

July 18, 2024 at 10:40PM EDT

Pedestrians walk past a McDonald's Corp. restaurant in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. Japans key measure of inflation rose at the fastest rate since May, with a higher sales tax boosting prices for a third month and a less-pronounced drop in gas prices also buoying the figure. Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg (Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- McDonald’s Corp. in Japan suspended about 30% of its stores nationwide on Friday after a systems outage.

The restaurant chain is “currently investigating the cause and the timeline for recovery is unclear,” a local spokesperson said.

There have been issues with stores’ cash registers since early morning, resulting in the closures, the spokesperson added.

The outage quickly became a trending topic on social media platform X in Japan, as customers hoping for Big Macs and McNuggets were met with disappointment.

It’s not the first time McDonald’s has experienced a systems outage this year. The company’s computers were hit by another issue in March that appeared to start in the Asia-Pacific region and then spread globally, leaving customers unable to order at stores and via electronic platforms.

McDonald’s Holdings Co. shares in Japan slipped as much as 1% in Tokyo trading.