Zensho Holdings shares fell up to 7.1 percent on March 24, 2025, marking the largest single-day decline since February 13. The drop came after the company revealed a customer found a dead rodent in miso soup at one of its Sukiya restaurants.
The incident occurred at a Sukiya branch in Tottori, western Japan, on January 21, 2025. According to the company’s March 22 statement, the rodent entered the soup during meal preparation, and staff did not detect it before serving the dish.
Images of the rodent in the soup spread across social media platforms. Sukiya apologized for not disclosing the incident earlier, acknowledging that customers became anxious due to the delayed notification. The company announced plans to strengthen hygiene measures.
Sukiya, which sells affordable beef rice bowls, operates about 2,000 locations throughout Japan. Before this incident, Zensho Holdings demonstrated strong financial performance, with shares gaining approximately 25 percent over the past 12 months, outperforming the Topix Index.
Shoichi Arisawa, an analyst at Iwai Cosmo Securities, noted that Zensho’s stock had been rising because investors expected profit increases from recent price hikes. Arisawa stated that the long-term impact would depend on whether customer numbers decrease in coming weeks.
“I don’t think the incident reflects a structural problem with the business. But Sukiya can’t just dismiss it as a one-off accident,” Arisawa said.
Food safety experts note that such incidents can have lasting effects on restaurant chains, particularly in Japan where cleanliness standards are typically very high. The company must now rebuild consumer trust while implementing stricter quality control across its restaurant network.
