TOKYO: Restaurant sales in Japan in May fell 32.2 percent from a year before on an all-store basis, down for the third consecutive month, the Japan Food Service Association said Thursday.

The figure was slightly better than the record drop of 39.6 percent in April, as some eating and drinking places reopened after the government lifted its coronavirus state of emergency in stages in May.

Sales at pubs plunged 95.9 percent, same as in April, while izakaya sales plummeted 88.5 percent, a shade better than the month before.

Family restaurants saw their sales fall 49.4 percent. While many continued to operate on shorter hours, demand for takeout and delivery foods helped improve sales compared with the previous month.

The sales decline in fast-food chains was limited at 9.3 percent. Western-style chains including McDonald's Co. (Japan) Ltd. saw sales rise 10.9 percent as delivery and drive-through sales boomed.

"The performance of each type of restaurants was determined by whether takeout options were available and how many stores suspended operations," the association said.

The overall industry situation "has improved from May, but the return of customers to shopping districts is slow," the association said.

JIJI Press