At your convenience: a history of the Japanese konbini

When Kenji Yamamoto opened Japan’s first 7-Eleven in 1974, his goal was to reinvent his family’s Tokyo liquor store. Mission accomplished. And then some. The success of Yamamoto’s gamble helped pave the way for an industry that, in 2024, saw customers spend 11 trillion yen across Japan’s 56,000 konbini: the shortened form of the Japanese word, “konbiniensu sutoru”.

As its name suggests, a good konbini is convenient and accessible: a one-stop shop providing…