Why Japan eats KFC for Christmas

[YoshidaYui]

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I last had KFC about 30 years ago. I think all the local franchises closed.

Common in the US. When sales drop franchisees drop the brand and move on to another. Still the same guys. One told me they get tax write-offs for marketing when they're new to a brand. I don't know, not my line of expertise.

[CanonRay]

2. This is fascinating!

[FredGarvin]

3. US KFC is overpriced garbage

The Japanese tradition of buying KFC is done by less than 5% of Japanese.

Dominos pizza in the US is a larger tradition.

KFC marketing invention

[YoshidaYui]

5. i think you will find its more then 5%

probably a lot more then that. Approximately 5-10% of Japanese people eat KFC for Christmas, based on available estimates and surveys.The tradition of eating KFC (or fried chicken in general) on Christmas in Japan stems from a successful 1974 marketing campaign by KFC Japan called "Kentucky for Christmas." It's a well-known custom, but often exaggerated in Western media as something "everyone" does.Reliable sources (including BBC and recent reports) consistently cite around 3.6 million Japanese families ordering KFC Christmas meals annually.
Japan has about 55-56 million households, so this equates to roughly 6-7% of households.
Assuming an average household size of 2-3 people, this involves about 8-12 million individuals, or 6-10% of Japan's population (around 125 million).

A more direct survey from 2024 (reported in 2025) found that about 30% of people planned to eat some kind of chicken dish for Christmas, but only 20% of those chose KFC — meaning fewer than 10% overall bought KFC specifically.Many families opt for other fried chicken options (from convenience stores like 7-Eleven or competitors), home-cooked meals, or no special chicken at all. The hype comes from KFC's massive sales spike during the holiday (historically up to a third of their annual revenue in Japan, though more recent figures are lower), long queues, and heavy advertising — but it's far from universal.


This JAPANESE GIRL Will be doing the KFC POT PIE FOR xmas today

[MichMan]

4. Never knew that

I was also surprised to hear several years ago how popular SPAM is in Korea.

[Aussie105]

8. Look up some recipes and you will see fried spam is an easy way to add cheap protein to a meal.

Eating it straight out of a can though - not recommended.

[Blumancru]

6. Yuck

I do not eat that disgusting greasy crap. I love my coronary arteries too much. Japanese people, in the spirit of Christmas you may have my share of KFC for the rest of my life.

[Aussie105]

7. Sushi instead.

Preferable over KFC, as long as it comes with some decent soy sauce.

But if your diet is largely rice and veg and the odd sushi serve during the year, some greasy chicken might be a special 'treat' at Christmas.

This is an infomercial, 8 minutes of it.

[IronLionZion]

9. Here in Virginia, we sometimes say KFC for Korean Fried Chicken

since that is popular here. There are fewer Kentucky Fried Chicken shops here these days. Then there are other Asian chicken shops like Jollibee and Bantam King and even Japanese Karaage fried chicken.

KFC is popular in other Asian countries too like India. I think it's better quality there than here in the USA.