Catch almost all the fries. Pokémon fans leave McDonald’s Japanese large amount of food waste drama
When a bunch of unpopular happy meals outside the Japanese McDonald’s restaurant littered the sidewalk as crazy customers scrambled to buy a limited edition set with Pokémon cards on weekends.
The promotional collaboration between McDonald’s and Pokémon ended just hours after launching on Saturday as customers bought a large number of meals to get an exclusive set of cards that reselled in full set and completely discarded the food.
A happy meal costs about $3.50 (about ¥510) – with food, drinks and toys – but scalpers list McDonald’s Japanese Pokémon cards on eBay, each selling for $28.
Photos on social media show dozens of bags of happy meals poured outside the restaurant and unclaimed food sitting idle on the table, prompting the public to waste food.
McDonald’s Japan posted on its official website: “We regret to inform you that McDonald’s Japan posted on its official website: “Because McDonald’s Japan posted on its official website.
Japan is often called a model of cleanliness, and visitors often praise the country’s clean streets and high standards of public health. So when a pile of junk images were posted on social media, people noticed and urged McDonald’s management to clean up the chaos.
“Buying happy dining or giving up or disposing of food is not tolerated,” the fast food chain said in a statement Monday.
McDonald’s Japan also said it will work with third-party websites to prevent scalpers from raising the price of collection cards.
“Recent situations clearly contradict our long-standing philosophy of providing a pleasant dining experience for children and families.”
“We take this seriously and admit that we have insufficient response.”
Japan is the birthplace of Pokémon, a popular franchise worldwide that centers on gig-sized monsters that have been appearing in transaction cards, video games, movies and TV series since 1996.
Limited edition and Mint Status Pokémon Cards can earn hundreds of dollars in the resale and collectibles markets, driving many to buy cards as speculative alternative investments.
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