Photo/Illutration Yoshinoya (Asahi file photo)

"A marketing strategy that will make young women from the countryside, just starting their lives in the big city, addicted to controlled substances."

Viewers who didn't know the statement's context must have wondered what on earth it meant when it was read out during a recent NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) news program.

From the tortuous circumlocution, it was all too evident the program director must have agonized over how to present the actual comments from Yoshinoya Holdings Co., the nation's leading "gyudon" beef bowl restaurant chain.

What was actually said was so crude and offensive, NHK obviously had to rephrase the remarks for public consumption.

The unedited version went to the effect, "a strategy to turn virgins into junkies" or "ensuring young country maidens become hooked on beef bowls while they are still innocent virgins who lack street smarts."

What rendered these remarks beyond shocking was Yoshinoya's managing director, Masaaki Ito, uttered them on the first day of a marketing seminar series held at Waseda University in Tokyo.

This 29-part seminar series charged a whopping 385,000 yen ($2,981) per person.

Waseda has already deleted Ito's name and photo from the roster of lecturers. Yoshinoya, too, fired him immediately.

The company has undergone a series of rough patches throughout its history.

Forced to relocate within Tokyo in the immediate aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the premises burned down in the Tokyo firebombing of March 1945.

Yoshinoya was also dealt a really severe blow when mad cow disease broke out in the United States.

It took Yoshinoya two years and seven months to resume sales, and I will never forget the teary eyes of the then-president who became overcome with emotion.

I have lost count of the number of times I have eaten at Yoshinoya--from my rookie reporter days to during my stints in the United States and Hong Kong.

The "delicious, cheap and fast" slogan perfectly answered my needs.

However, Ito's outrageous remarks could turn off even the chain's long-time fans. Being reminded of them suddenly while tucking into my bowl is the last thing I need.

I can only hope, at least, that the familiar taste will not change.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 20

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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