Business Oct. 28, 2008 - 03:08AM JST ( 1 )

TOKYO —

Sales at restaurant chains in Japan in September fell 4.7% from a year earlier on a same-store basis, the first decline in three months, the Japan Food Service Association said Monday.

In particular, sales at restaurants that serve rice-related meals were sluggish, the industry group said. Sales at Japanese-style fast food restaurants decreased 6%, and those at conveyor-belt sushi outlets and shops that sell rice-based takeout meals were down 8%, it said.

Media reports on inedible industrial-use rice resold for human consumption could have affected sales at rice-related restaurants, according to the association.

The smaller number of holidays in September compared with a year before and the poor weather also contributed to the decline in the month’s sales.

The number of customers fell 5%. Sales at fast food restaurants fell 3.4%.

Sales at family restaurants were down 7%, although sales at Chinese-style family restaurants were strong.

Sales at cafes remained unchanged, while sales fell at pubs including “izakaya” Japanese-style ones and at dinner restaurants.

JCN