A Tokyo-based restaurant operator said it would open franchises of Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. in Japan.
A Wall Street Journal report said the restaurants would be the first Taco Bell locations not on U.S. military bases there.
Neither noted the number of restaurants planned or the time frame for opening
them.
Asrapport Dining Co. runs 429 restaurants in Japan that include Japanese-style pubs—called “izakaya”—and barbecue outlets—called “yakiniku.”
The company wants to operate restaurants of various kinds and price points and wants to get into food manufacturing, according to its statement.
The Wall Street Journal said Japan has many burger and pizza fast-food chains but few Mexican-themed ones.
Taco Bell, a unit of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., operates more than 6,000 restaurants, the vast majority of which are in the U.S., and has said it wants to grow overseas.
