Japan's cheap curry lunch faces an impossible trinity

The country can preserve only two of three things: cheap everyday services, rising wages and minimal immigration. It can’t have all three at once.

- Gearoid Reidy

Concerns are rising that Japan's curry lunch might be under threat, along with 24-hour izakaya pubs and other food service businesses increasingly dependent on foreign labour. Rules for business-owner visas have been tightened, and it is also harder for eateries to hire foreign staff.

(PHOTO: AFP)

The “Indian curry” lunch is a Japanese salaryman’s treat.

The “Indian curry” lunch is a Japanese salaryman’s treat. Two or three mildly spiced dishes, paired with unlimited quantities of slightly sweet and extra fluffy naan, typically with a small salad and drink - a steal at only 1,000 yen (S$8) or so.

This isn’t Japanese curry rice but another variation, one that, like its British equivalent, has been entirely adapted to the local market. Indeed, most “Indian” places — thought to be north of 4,000, more than the number of McDonald’s — are actually run by Nepalese.

But concerns are rising that the curry lunch might be under threat, along with 24-hour izakaya pubs and other food service businesses increasingly dependent on foreign labour.

With the sector already facing the strain of inflation, migrant workers and owners are being squeezed by limitations on visas.