TOKYO: The 7-Eleven convenience store chain this week marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of its first outlet in Japan, where convenience stores have become essential infrastructure for everyday life.

On May 15, 1974, the first Japanese store opened in Tokyo’s Toyosu area, and the first product sold there was a pair of sunglasses displayed next to the cash desk. “In the beginning, I wasn’t sure at all what kind of people would come to shop,” said the store owner, Kenji Yamamoto, now 74.

The store’s product lineup was initially based on what were selling well in supermarkets. But through trial and error, the convenience store chain began introducing new products and services one after another.

In 1978, the 7-Eleven chain started to sell “onigiri” rice balls that customers could roll in a sheet of nori seaweed by themselves. For many people, onigiri has become something to buy at convenience stores. It was also the chain that developed “tuna-mayo” rice balls, which have become a classic.

The chain also began mediating parcel delivery services in 1981 and accepting utility bill payments in 1987.

In 2001, Aiwai Bank, now Seven Bank, was founded to operate automated teller machines in 7-Eleven convenience stores. Meanwhile, multifunction copy machines were introduced in 2000, and a service of issuing copies of some administrative documents was launched in 2010.

The 7-Eleven chain currently has more than 21,000 stores across Japan, compared with a total of about 57,000 convenience stores, including those of other chains, in the country.

In recent years, the pace of new 7-Eleven store openings has slowed, and labor shortages have made it difficult for some existing stores to continue the 24-hour operation that the chain started in 1975.

In February this year, Seven-Eleven Japan Co., the operator of the chain in Japan, introduced a new type of store focused on perishable and frozen foods to meet new consumer needs.

“Convenience stores are not almighty,” said Yamamoto, the owner of the first 7-Eleven store in Japan. “It’s important for each store to develop its fans.”

JIJI Press