Japan panics as Yoshinoya chain runs out of beef

[dArKeR]

One of Japan's favorite meals was taken off the menu on Wednesday as the country's ban on US beef claimed its best-known victim so far.

Yoshinoya, a nationwide chain of almost 1,000 restaurants, says its supplies of beef have run out, less than two months after the ban was imposed following the discovery of BSE in a cow in the state of Washington.

The shortage has forced the chain, which relied almost entirely on US beef, to stop serving gyudon, a bowl of rice topped with strips of beef and onions.

Customers have not taken it well. A 35-year-old man was arrested at a Yoshinoya restaurant in Ibaraki when he assaulted two other customers after being told that the last bowl of gyudon had been eaten.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/02/13/2003098557

Assult in Japan is when one stamps their foot. Such nice and polite people!

[Gringo]

1. I love Yoshinoya Beef Bowl!

eom

[dArKeR]

2. me too!

[Art_from_Ark]

3. Here's a link to an original Japanese article

http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/kp/topics/2004feb/11/K20040211MKB1Z100000039.html

Apparently, the guy was a truck driver who had stopped off at the restaurant. He first consumed two large bottles of beer, then pounded his fist on the table when told there was no beef. "What kind of gyudon restaurant doesn't have gyudon?!" he angrily exclaimed. But that's not what got him arrested. Apparently a 24-year-old man sitting at the next table tried to calm him, and got punched in the face for his efforts. A 21-year-old man then tried to intervene, and he got his hair pulled by the truck driver.

[KoKo]

4. Geeze! When the Japanese get stressed out and agressive we all need

to worry! Wonder if the Bushies paid him to raise a fuss to create pressure on Japan Govt. to start importing our beef again!

It's interesting that the "ranchers" that Bush loves so much he mentioned them in his first SOU Speech aren't being heard from and that there's no mention of the Beef ban in any economic figures or analysis.

This has to be affecting the Beef producers.....but all is quiet. Another US "export" bites the dust because of the Chimps lax regulation.

[Art_from_Ark]

5. A little background information

The incident happened in Kamisu, a rough little blue collar town just down the road from me. The assailant drank two large (probably 750ml) bottles of beer just before the attack, which occurred at 9:10 in the morning. So this guy already had about 50 ounces of beer in his gut and the day hadn't really even started yet. What's more, the restaurant had announced 9 hours earlier that they had run out of gyudon, so he should have expected there to be none.

There is more to this story than meets the eye-- my guess is that it was a marital spat that triggered his morning beer drinking binge. At any rate, it was an isolated incident. Contrary to the sensationalist headline (from the Taipei Times), no one here (in Japan)-- except this bozo, and the Yoshinoya restaurant chain-- is panicking over the lack of American beef "gyudon".