Photo/Illutration A worker from Elcom Co. upgrades a machine at a noodle restaurant in Yokohama's Tsurumi Ward on June 19. The ticket machine vendor is struggling to accommodate a surge of upgrade requests leading up to the July 3 release of new banknotes. (Shota Tomonaga)

There's a shortage of time, but an abundance of headaches among small restaurants nationwide as they grapple with upgrading their food ticket machines by next month.

Starting July 3, new banknotes will be put into circulation.

The cost of the upgrades, coupled with rising prices and labor costs, is adding to the burden on businesses struggling to stay afloat.

"We're already dealing with rising food costs, energy bills and labor costs. And now we have to add the cost of new banknotes to the mix," lamented Masatoshi Ashida, 48, the owner of Strike-ken, a ramen shop in Osaka’s Kita Ward.

Like many small restaurants, the ramen shop uses a food ticket machine for customer payments instead of a cash register.

Ashida has used the same ticket vending machine for eight years. When he inquired with the manufacturer about the cost of upgrading the machine to accept the new banknotes, he was quoted a price of up to 200,000 yen ($1,200).

Replacing the entire machine would cost around 1.5 million yen, a staggering amount for a small business like his.

As a result of the financial strain, Ashida was forced to raise the price of his ramen from 900 yen to 950 yen a bowl in June.

He currently plans to replace the machine's cash slot, but worries about the long wait times; the manufacturer said it may take until September to get the machine upgraded.

In the meantime, he will have to manually exchange customers' new banknotes with old ones.

"It’s frustrating that the government has decided to introduce new banknotes without considering the burden it would place on small businesses like ours," Ashida said.

The Bank of Japan plans to print 7.48 billion new banknotes by the end of March next year, marking the first redesign in 20 years.

Elcom Co., a ticket machine dealer based in Tokyo’s Ota Ward, is working around the clock to update its machines for its customers spanning restaurants, amusement parks and public facilities.

According to the company, businesses have two options.

They can replace parts and update internal software for 150,000 to 400,000 yen. Or, they can purchase a new machine, which can cost between 700,000 and 2 million-plus yen.

Elcom began receiving requests for updates and replacements for ticket machines last summer, but the number has surged in recent months.

As of mid-June, the company has only completed two-thirds of the software updates and half of the replacements requested. It now expects it will miss the July 3 deadline for some of its customers.

According to a survey conducted by the Japan Vending System Manufacturers Association in early June, 90 percent of ATMs, 80 to 90 percent of railway ticket machines, and 60 to 70 percent of bus ticket dispensers are expected to be ready for the new banknotes by the end of this month.

In contrast, only half of food ticket machines in restaurants, as well as automated payment machines and currency exchange machines in hospitals and other facilities, are expected to be ready by the deadline.

For the estimated 2.22 million beverage vending machines nationwide, the figure is only 20 to 30 percent.

(This article was written by Sakura Kawamura and Kyota Tanaka.)

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