After two instances in which customers discovered vermin, including a rat, in their food, one of Japan’s largest restaurant chains is conducting a thorough cleansing of its outlets.

Sukiya, which is renowned for its beef-on-rice dishes, has declared an interim closure as a result of a client discovering an insect.

It acknowledged the discovery of a rodent in a serving of miso soup in January last weekend.

The chain, which operates nearly 2,000 restaurants, announced that the majority of its locations would be closed from March 31 to April 4 in order to “prevent external intrusion and internal infestation of pests and vermin.”

It issued a statement in which it expressed regret for the “significant inconvenience and concern that was incurred.”

Sukiya was compelled to verify that the rodent had been discovered “prior to its consumption” after rumors regarding the rat-in-miso incident had been proliferating on social media for weeks.

The restaurant, located in the city of Tottori, was temporarily closed. Sukiya stated that precautionary measures had been implemented to address structural flaws that could potentially result in contamination.

It subsequently declared that all of its outlets would undergo routine inspections to identify any deficiencies and that refuse would be refrigerated.

The company has now implemented the more severe course of action of closure following the discovery of the insect by a customer in Tokyo on Friday.

The insect is widely believed to have been a portion or the entire cockroach.

The customer received a refund and the manager provided an apology, according to the report.

Sukiya is a subsidiary of Zensho Holdings, a Japanese company that operates numerous restaurant franchises.

The share price of the company experienced a decline on Monday following the disclosure regarding the rodent, but it recovered later in the week. Following the announcement on Saturday, its shares will be subject to scrutiny.