Company Cafeterias in Tokyo Support Employees’ Household Budgets as Tax Reforms Provide Tailwind

By Yuka Isogawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

20:00 JST, April 23, 2026

As the cost of eating out soars due to rising prices, companies in Tokyo are increasingly introducing employee cafeterias where staff can eat at affordable prices.

With the new fiscal year’s tax reforms significantly raising the tax-exempt limit for meal subsidies provided by companies, there is a growing trend of supporting employees’ household budgets.

At the head office of Tokyo Star Bank in the Akasaka district in Minato Ward, Tokyo, the employee cafeteria was bustling at lunchtime on Wednesday. Four menu items were available, including a daily special for ¥530 and fried eggplant with Chinese chili sauce on rice.

In March last year, as part of its efforts to create an attractive office environment, the bank introduced a “kitchenless cafeteria” with no kitchen or drainage facilities. Lunches prepared at a production facility are delivered and served hot.

Kazuhisa Miyoshi, a 43-year-old employee, said with a smile, “Eating out can sometimes cost around ¥1,500, so the cafeteria is a huge help for my household budget.”

A bank spokesperson noted, “We can offer meals for around ¥500, which helps support our employees financially.”

According to a March survey by Recruit Co. of workers in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Tokai and Kansai regions, the average budget for weekday lunches for eating out rose to a record high of ¥1,338, up ¥88 from the previous year.

Amid soaring lunch costs, employee cafeterias — where companies subsidize employees’ food expenses — are drawing attention as a source of affordable meals.

According to Bondish, based in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, which operates the bank’s cafeteria, a growing number of companies are adopting kitchenless cafeterias, with inquiries from January to March rising 40% on a year-on-year basis.

Higher tax-exempt limit

The tax reforms for this fiscal year are encouraging corporate meal subsidies.

While there was already a system in place in which income tax is not levied on meal expenses subsidized by companies during work hours up to a certain amount, the government has raised this tax-exempt limit for the first time in 42 years to address rising prices. The limit has been increased from ¥3,500 to ¥7,500 per person per month.

As long as employees pay at least half of the total cost, they will pay no income tax on their meal subsidy.

For example, if an employee spent a total of ¥15,000 on meals in a month, the ¥7,500 subsidized by the company will be tax-exempt as long as the employee covers half of the total cost. However, if the employee’s contribution falls short of half of the total, the entire company subsidy will be subject to income tax.

Since meal subsidies effectively increase employees’ take-home pay, they are garnering attention as the “third form of wage increase.”

Related services grow

Following the tax reforms, companies offering corporate meal services have been receiving a flood of inquiries.

Ezaki Glico Co., based in Osaka City, which allows companies to offer corporate meals without setting up a cafeteria, expanded its delivery-based corporate meal service “Sunao Delivery” to the Tokyo metropolitan area in April. It was previously only available in Osaka City.

The service can be used for as few as five meals per day, and the company said it has received many inquiries from small and midsize enterprises.

Edenred Japan Co., based in Minato Ward, Tokyo, offers “Ticket Restaurant,” a meal subsidy service that uses a dedicated smart card for payment.

Employees and their companies split the amount of money deposited on the card, which can be used to purchase meals at participating convenience stores and restaurants.

The company said that inquiries have increased significantly compared to last year.