2024 was shaping up to be a bad year for ramen shops. And it turned out to be pretty awful in the end, as Japan saw a record number of bankruptcies.
The final numbers are in: 72 ramen shops shuttered for good in 2023 due to bankruptcy. “Bankruptcy” is here defined as having over 10 million yen (USD $63,000) in liabilities and closing via a legal proceeding.
In 2022, only 53 went bankrupt, making for an increase of over 30% (19 additional stores). That’s the largest number of ramen restaurant bankruptcies ever recorded.
The driving factor is rising prices of all raw ingredients, including pork, oil, noodles, and seaweed. Despite the rise in costs, Teikoku Databank, which tracks the restaurant industry, says many...
