New Kit Kat factory opens in Japan to meet exotic flavor demand

Jul 27, 2017 | News On Japan

Jul 27, 2017 (Japan Today) - Wasabi and Okinawan sweet potato may not be everyone's preferred type of Kit Kat but booming demand for exotic flavours in Japan has prompted bar-maker Nestle to open a new factory.

The Switzerland-based food giant announced Wednesday that it will on August 1 open its first new Japanese Kit Kat production site in 26 years, located in the western city of Himeji.

The move was made to "respond to (the) popularity of Made in Japan" Kit Kat bars, Nestle said in a statement.

In Japan, where Kit Kat was introduced in 1973, the bar is not a typical four-fingered chocolate treat.

Aside from Wasabi, a notoriously hot condiment served with sushi and sashimi, Nestle currently offers around 30 Kit Kat flavours in Japan -- raging from green tea to ginger, to Yokohama cheese cake and Kobe pudding.

Nestle said the bars made at the new Himeji site will be sold at boutique shops -- a popular destination Kit Kat aficionados with unorthodox tastes -- and online.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.