Christianity isn't very widespread in Japan: it's estimated that only 1% of Japanese people follow this doctrine. Buddhism is the most widely followed religion, of course, along with Shintoism. Yet a good portion of Japanese celebrate December 25th, but they celebrate it a little differently than we might imagine. Although Japanese culture has a very dogmatic cuisine, at Christmas people go to KFC, eating fried chicken in such quantities that from December 23rd to 25th it's impossible to find a table in a restaurant without a reservation.
Marketing That Creates Tradition
The union between the Christian Christmas and fast food fried chicken is very reminiscent of the story of the relationship between Coca-Cola and Santa Claus: in 1974, Takeshi Okawara, owner of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Japan, launched a simple but highly effective campaign, which is still bearing fruit 40 years later: Kentucky For Christmas. The campaign was a resounding success and has been repeated over the years, to the point of becoming a tradition.
KFC's Role in Japan
The fried chicken fast food chain arrived in Japan at the dawn of the 1970s, welcomed with fanfare, given its novelty. But after a roaring start, revenues settled at average levels. According to what we read on the KFC website in Japan, an American employee of a Christian school played a major role in the "modern" Christmas tradition. In America, in fact, it is customary to cook turkey at Christmas, an extremely expensive bird in Japan. The man, who wanted to prepare a dinner for all the students and employees of the school, decided to find a palliative: KFC fried chicken. The menu included, for the equivalent of $9 in today's money, wine and fried chicken. Today the menu costs $41 and in addition to wine and fried chicken, there is also a cake and champagne.
Revenue from 1,000 KFCs across Japan on December 23, 24, and 25 was 50% of the turnover of other months, a staggering result, completely unrelated to any religious roots. When compared to the rigidity of Japanese culture and cuisine, the result is even more astonishing.
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