The Big Mac was the catalyst that brought McDonald’s to Japan

McDonald’s Big Mac remains popular even now, more than half a century after it was first released.

This monster of a hamburger has spread so far and wide that there is even a famous economic indicator called the “Big Mac Index” to compare the real value of different countries’ currencies.
Let’s think about the Big Mac’s mysterious appeal.

The original hamburger, consisting of two beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions sandwiched between three layered buns and topped with a special sauce, debuted in 1967 for 45 cents.

Its creator was Jim Delligatti (1918-2016), owner of a McDonald’s franchise in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In fact, Jim apparently came up with the Big Mac after learning about the large, double-stacked hamburgers that other restaurants were already serving, and he stated during his lifetime that the Big Mac was not a groundbreaking invention.
However, when he offered it as a limited menu item at the restaurant he runs, it became a huge hit, far exceeding his expectations.
Customers flocked to the store every day hoping to get a Big Mac, and sales at the store increased by 12% in one go.

The following year, in 1968, it was adopted as an official menu item at all McDonald’s restaurants across the United States.
It quickly spread throughout the world and the Big Mac became a popular menu item that symbolizes McDonald’s.

The success of the Big Mac is said to have solidified McDonald’s position as a hamburger chain and made it the king of the fast food industry.
It was also the Big Mac that prompted McDonald’s to enter the Japanese market.

When businessman Den Fujita (1926-2004) was researching American hamburger chains, one of his employees apparently consumed two McDonald’s hamburgers in the blink of an eye and gave Fujita his stamp of approval, saying, “President, this is definitely something you can try!”
It was this one word that led Fujita to decide to found McDonald’s Japan, but the hamburger that the employees devoured was, in fact, a Big Mac.
He must have been quite a big eater, as he finished two in one go.

The Big Mac was, of course, on the menu of the first McDonald’s in Japan, which opened at Ginza Mitsukoshi on July 20, 1971, and has remained a regular menu item ever since.