Seven-Eleven Japanese Stores To Include English In Labeling

Above, a Seven-Eleven store beneath a Denny's restaurant in Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Foreign visitors to Japan who stop at convenience stores to pick up a snack are often perplexed about what a prepared food item contains.

Seven-Eleven Japan Co. is doing something about it. They are going to label products in Japanese and English.

According to Kyodo News:

Seven-Eleven Japan Co., the country's largest convenience store chain operator, will start selling onigiri rice balls and some other prepared foods with labels carrying product names in both Japanese and English from the new year. 

Seven-Eleven Japan President Kazuki Furuya said during an interview with Kyodo News on Thursday that the measure is in response to requests from foreign tourists, whose number has been soaring and is expected to rise further ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. 

"More foreign customers will be using convenience stores in Japan in the future," Furuya said, adding he hopes foreign tourists' visits to Seven-Eleven stores in Japan will lead to a stronger brand power of the company in the United States, China and Southeast Asia where it is opening more stores. 

According to the company, the number of foreign visitors purchasing products at its stores has been growing in big cities and popular tourist destinations.

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