Word: japanization
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Burger King has not exactly lived up to its name in Japan. It has only 15 stores nationwide, compared to McDonald's roughly 3,750. But there's no denying that Burger King now offers the biggest burger in town. This month, the American fast food chain, in an oddball marketing tie-up with Microsoft, launched the Windows 7 Whopper, a 5-inch (12 cm) tower of meat stacked with seven beef patties and weighing nearly a kilogram - more if slathered with ketchup. The magnitude of meat has evidently blown the idea of a traditional lunch of fish and rice...
...behemoth of beef is the result of a tie-up between Lotte Group, which owns a majority stake in Burger King's Japan franchises, and Microsoft, to let non-techie consumers know that Microsoft has released a new version of its operating software. The burger's whopping success exceeded expectation, and Burger King decided to extend its campaign for another nine days until Nov. 6. Burger King spokesman Masahiro Unuma says the company is surprised by sales and the attention the Whopper has drawn, particularly on YouTube, where videos have popped up of people taking on the seven-patty challenge...
...Maybe. But there's also the uniqueness to be found in Japan's relationship with food, and the cultural fixation on eating it or appraising it. Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi wasn't six-time champion of Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest without the backing of a culture that knows how to stretch their stomachs. Many celebrity "tarento" (talent) become famous by stuffing their faces, and "oogui" (or competitive eating) is so popular that TV Tokyo, a major network, has a seasonal special program to determine the "King of Gluttons." This September, "food fighter" Ayari Sato won against seven competitors through...
...Royal Deluxe. Some Asian locations serve fried shrimp in a Big Mac roll, while McDonald's in India don't serve beef at all, relying instead on burgers made from veggies, rice and beans. Brazilian McDonald's offer baked banana pies for dessert. (Read "Not Everyone Is Lovin' Japan's New McDonald's Mascot...
...across the U.S. The first international franchise opened in 1967 in British Columbia, and was followed by another in Costa Rica later that year. From there, the chain spread steadily: over a six-month period in 1971, Golden Arches popped up on three new continents, as stores launched in Japan, Holland and a suburb of Sydney. A Brazilian McDonald's opened in 1979, bringing Ronald McDonald to South America for the first time. McDonald's reached its sixth (and, barring a sub-Arctic drive-thru, final) continent in 1992, with the opening of a restaurant in Casablanca, Morocco. Four years...