McDonald’s in Japan announced on August 14th that it will temporarily tighten the sales restrictions of the children’s meal themed around the electronic game “Pokémon” – the “Happy Meal”. From the 15th to the 17th, the limit per person will be reduced from 5 meals to 3. This sales restriction comes in response to issues that arose over the weekend, including consumers buying large quantities for card resale and food wastage, which have left the Japanese public discontented.
According to a report by Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, McDonald’s plans to launch a second Happy Meal starting from August 15th, featuring toys like Pikachu and Bulbasaur. There will be enhanced sales limits, allowing only 3 sets per transaction, refusing orders of four or more sets by customers and canceling such orders. The promotion will no longer offer Pokémon cards as prizes.
McDonald’s launched an event on August 9th to 11th where customers purchasing a Happy Meal would receive a Pokémon card in addition to the toy. Initially, each person was limited to buying five sets, leading to overcrowding and chaos both inside and outside stores. Many customers attempted to resale the cards, resulting in a lot of food being thrown away, leading to the suspension of the event in many stores after the cards were sold out on the first day, 9th.
Keiko Yoshida from Osaka shared with Epoch Times that her 5-year-old grandson was looking forward to a trip with his parents to their ancestral home in Okayama on the 9th. However, she diverted the plan to take him to McDonald’s for the Happy Meal with the Pokémon card gift, making him choose to stay back. She recounted, “We arrived at the McDonald’s near Tenmabashi Station before 8 a.m. on the 9th, seeing a crowd outside, initially mistaking them for passengers getting off. It turned out they were all queuing, with a majority being Chinese.”
She further described, “They took out the cards from the meal and handed them to someone who seemed to be collecting them, and giving them money. I asked how much, but a man just glanced at me without responding, perhaps not understanding Japanese.” Due to the lengthy queue and heat, she and her grandson left. He became upset, muttering that it would have been better to go to grandpa’s home. Keiko found out later through the news about the high speculation and early queuing for the free card offers, some even lining up as early as 4 a.m.
McDonald’s issued an apology statement on the 11th, expressing deep regret for the significant inconvenience caused and stating they will not tolerate the purchase of Happy Meals for the purpose of resale, disposal, or handling. The situation significantly contradicted their longstanding principle of providing fun dining experiences for children and families, and the restaurant’s stance. They announced plans to enhance inadequate measures, such as strict restrictions on selling quantities of goods.
Furthermore, McDonald’s announced collaboration with third-party websites to prevent scalpers from inflating the prices of collectible cards.
The Happy Meal includes food, drinks, and toys, priced at 510 to 540 yen ($3.47 to $3.68). However, on the large online auction site eBay in the U.S., resellers are selling the Pokémon cards included in the meal at $28 each (approximately 4,100 yen).
The Pokémon card game was born in Japan in 1996, with Pokémon characters being greatly loved by the public. The current collectible card game, electronic games, and movies are popular worldwide. Limited edition and brand-new Pokémon cards can fetch tens of thousands of yen in the resale and collectibles market, considered an alternative investment target.
The Japanese public is enraged by the reselling of gifts and food wastage and finds it intolerable, expressing their dissatisfaction online.
Some netizens expressed, “This incident is truly a disgrace for Japan. While many behaviors may be attributed to foreigners, McDonald’s actually facilitated them. Their only response seemed to prioritize profits, a major food company that failed to learn a lesson, leading to massive food wastage. To regain trust, McDonald’s must take action and not tolerate any resale or food wastage behavior.”
Others mentioned, “As a major food company, McDonald’s, their response can only be described as ‘completely unacceptable’. They seemed focused solely on promotion and publicity, veering off their intended positioning of providing a ‘meal of joy for children’. For the children, this wasn’t a Happy Meal; it was an Unhappy Meal as many children missed out on the meal with the Pokémon card.”
There were also opinions raised, “If hunger-stricken people worldwide see stacks of Happy Meals being discarded on the streets, would they not resent Japan? If so, McDonald’s responsibility goes beyond the borders of Japan. Many overseas tourists seeing this news may say upon returning home, ‘Japan is truly a wasteful country.’ Everyone except scalpers should boycott this company… blinded by profit, they disregard children and those suffering from hunger. I will never buy McDonald’s products again.”