McDonald’s in Japan Closes 30% of Stores Due to Systems Outage

30% of the McDonald’s stores in Japan were shut down on Friday, July 19, due to a systems outage.

Bloomberg reported that, according to a local representative, the restaurant chain is “currently investigating the cause and the timeline for recovery is unclear.” The spokeswoman also said that the closures were caused by problems with the cash registers in the stores that started early in the morning. The outage quickly became a trending topic on X, formerly Twitter, as disappointed Japanese customers who were looking for Big Macs and McNuggets were let down by the disruption.

Consequently, Tokyo trading saw a 1% decline in McDonald’s Holdings Co. shares.

This is just the latest system failure experienced by McDonald’s in the region this year alone. Another problem that seemed to originate in the Asia-Pacific area and then spread worldwide struck the company’s computers in March, making it impossible for customers to place orders in-store or online, according to a separate Bloomberg report.

News of this latest hit to the fast-food chain’s bottom line comes amid reports of mixed results from the $5 value meal.

For TheStreet, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh examined a number of franchise checks for the massive burger chain and found that patrons weren’t exactly swarming the eateries.

“We note that comparisons ease in July, with the current month impacted by the timing of the July 4th holiday and Hurricane Beryl in Texas,” he said in a note obtained by Seeking Alpha.

Saleh also pointed out that McDonald’s saw a “soft but slightly positive sales growth” in spite of the difficulties. But the figures weren’t as big as anticipated or initially believed. In addition, he said that the $5 Meal Deal would run through September and that it was “too early to know” if it would contribute to long-term growth and/or earnings.

On June 25, McDonald’s unveiled the $5 Meal Deal and stated that it will only be offered for a short period of time.

Customers can purchase a small soft drink, a McDouble or McChicken sandwich, small fries, and a four-piece Chicken McNuggets for $5. This offer aims to provide clients with a top-notch dinner at a fantastic price.