List of product placements

The Yakuza franchise features a lot of product placement in order to replicate the feeling of a living city in the various red light districts through the food, drink, electronics and entertainment provided. This page lists the real-life brands that appear in the game.

Foods and drinks

Kazuma Kiryu holding a Pizza-La box.

Acecook

Instant ramen cups made by Acecook appear in stores throughout the Yakuza series. The company is also involved in the substory "Instant Ramen Takes Time" in Yakuza 3.

Asahi

In Judgment, Asahi replaces Suntory as the primary drinks brand for the series. Nikka and Asahi beer replaces various Suntory brands for alcoholic and soft drinks. Additionally, before Judgment, the real-life Sapporo landmark advertisement for Nikka Whisky, an Asahi-owned brand, was featured in Tsukimino in Yakuza 5.

Brown-Forman

Another long-running tie-in agreement is with American drinks corporation Brown-Forman. A number of Yakuza titles feature the Brown-Forman-owned Jack Daniel's and Early Times brands. In Judgment, additional labels such as Camus, Woodford Reserve, Bushmills, and Ben Nevis became available as whiskey and scotch brands.

Imuraya

Imuraya^WP is a confectionery producer based in Mie Prefecture^WP, whose products can be purchased from convenience stores in Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami 2, as well as having billboard advertisements in the games.

Orion Breweries

Orion beer, the most popular brand of beer in Okinawa, appears in advertisements and branded Chinese Lanterns in Yakuza 3's Downtown Ryukyu. As a result of its partnership with Asahi to promote the brand outside of Okinawa, Orion also appears as a purchasable beer brand in Judgment.

PepsiCo

A number of PepsiCo^WP soft drink products, including Pepsi NEX^WP, 7UP^WP, Gatorade, and Mountain Dew^WP can be purchased in certain games. There is a scene where Yoshitaka Mine is seen drinking from a Gatorade bottle in the original Yakuza 3, but the logo was deleted in the remaster as the licensing deal with PepsiCo had expired. However, it seems PepsiCo licensing returned in Lost Judgment as brands like Pepsi and Mountain Dew are now available in several convenience stores.

Pizza-La

Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami feature the Pizza-La^WP brand. The brand's presence is most notable in the Yakuza 0 substory Passport to Pizza, where Kiryu mistakes a foreign woman needing a visa for saying pizza, and thus orders a pizza from Pizza-La.

Suntory

The Suntory^WP drinks brand has had a long-running product placement deal with the Yakuza series, their products having appeared in every Yakuza game. The various bars in the series offer a variety of alcoholic beverages that are produced and/or distributed by Suntory in Japan. This includes their own branded drinks, as well as foreign brands such as Carlsberg^WP, Jim Beam^WP, Beefeater Gin^WP, and SKYY Vodka^WP to name a few. In games prior to Yakuza 6, bartenders serving a Suntory liquor would go into a lengthy speech extolling the virtues of the particular drink ordered. In addition to the liquors available at bars, Suntory soft drinks and beers can be purchased from convenience stores and vending machines.

Real-world Eateries

The real-life Zuboraya in Dotonbori, Osaka

There are a very large number of real-life eateries that have appeared in the series as tie-ins, ranging from national chains to independent cafés.

• Blue Seal Ice Cream, an Okinawan ice cream parlour chain, appears in Yakuza 3's Downtown Ryukyu.
• CURRY SHOP S, a local Sapporo eatery, is featured in Tsukimino in Yakuza 5.
• Fuji Soba, a soba^WP restaurant, replaces Pronto on Nakamichi Street, Kamurocho, from Yakuza 0 onwards.
• Gindaco Highball Tavern, a Takoyaki restaurant and bar. It has locations in Kamurocho and Tsukimino.
• Gyoza no Ohsho, a Gyoza chain. Appears in Tsukimino in Yakuza 5.
• Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese barbecue chain. Appears in Judgment.
• Ikinari Steak, a steak restaurant, appears just east of the batting cages from Yakuza 6 onwards. Kunio Ichinose, the firm's real-life owner, makes an appearance as a friend in Judgment.
• Izakaya Hanako, an Izakaya^WP-type restaurant with scantily-clad young waitresses, appears in Tsukimino.
• Matsuo Jingisukan, a lamb barbecue restaurant, appears in Tsukimino.
• Matsuya, a beef bowl fast-food restaurant, appears in Kamurocho in all the games up to Yakuza 5, subsequently being replaced by a generic restaurant based on the chain called Akaushimaru.
• Pronto, a café chain, is seen in Yakuza 3 to Yakuza 5.
• Quickly Tea and Boba, a bubble tea^WP stand, appears in Downtown Ryukyu in Yakuza 3.
• Ringer Hut, a noodle dish restaurant chain, is featured from Yakuza 0 onwards.
• Sam's Maui, a real-world Hawaiian-themed teppanyaki^WP restaurant, appears in Yakuza 3's Downtown Ryukyu.
• Sumire, a ramen bar, is situated in Tsukimino.
• Sushi Zanmai, a sushi restaurant chain. There are locations in Nagasugai and Tsukimino in Yakuza 5, with a Kamurocho location opening in later games, replacing the Akaushimaru at the southern end of Millennium Tower Street East.
• Watami Izakaya, a location which Kiryu takes hostesses on dates in Yakuza 4. As well as Japan, this company has other branches in other parts of Asia, such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines and South Korea.
• Yoshinoya^WP, a famous Japanese beef bowl restaurant, appears in Lost Judgment, replacing Akaushimaru.
• Zuboraya, a real pufferfish restaurant chain in Osaka, known for its large and elaborate lantern displays, pictured. In Yakuza 2, there were two locations, in Osaka's Sotenbori and Shinseicho districts. Other games set in Sotenbori also have the corresponding restaurant.

Entertainment and shops

DARTSLIVE

DARTSLIVE dart machines have appeared in bars since Yakuza 3. In Yakuza 6 DARTSLIVE-sponsored professional darts player Paul Lim makes a cameo appearance as an opponent.

Don Quijote

Don Quijote stores are found in all Yakuza games prior to Yakuza: Like a Dragon, as well as Sotenbori and Tsukimino locations in games set in these locations. A somewhat anachronistic version even appears in Kyoto in Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!.

Joysound

Since Yakuza 0, the Karaoke minigame uses Joysound software. Billboards for the brand are also seen in Yakuza Kiwami.

Maharaja

A popular disco that operated during the height of Japan's bubble economy in the 1980s, and relaunched in recent years. In Yakuza 0, Maharaja discos can be visited in both Kamurocho and Sotenbori.

SEGA

Given that they are the publishers of Yakuza, it followed that SEGA^WP would feature their own brand significantly in the games. A chain of arcades called Club SEGA has appeared throughout the series, with the largest and most prominent arcade being a fixture in Kamurocho's Theater Square. In these arcades, the player can play various SEGA games such as UFO Catcher, Virtua Fighter^WP, Super Hang-On^WP, and Space Harrier^WP. There are also posters of numerous SEGA titles on the walls of these arcades. In Yakuza 0, there is a MegaDrive^WP toy that can be won from prize machines. In Yakuza Kiwami 2, it is also possible to play Toylets in a Club SEGA restroom. The television in New Serena in Yakuza 3 is branded Sega.

Seicomart

Seicomart is the largest convenience store chain on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. One of its Sapporo stores makes an appearance in Tsukimino in Yakuza 5.

Vocaloid

In Yakuza 5, Vocaloid^WP character Hatsune Miku^WP is featured in a number of places. Protagonist Haruka Sawamura can even dress up as her in a DLC outfit.

Others

APA Hotel

In Yakuza 6, Shun Akiyama meets Kiryu disguised as a window cleaner on the 6th floor of the APA Hotel. The hotel lobby is also accessible to the player at any time. In Judgment and onwards, the hotel is rebranded as Hotel New Deborah, indicating the licensing agreement has expired.

AXE Deodorant at Don Quijote

AXE

Kiryu can buy AXE^WP deodorant in the original PlayStation 3 version of Yakuza 3. Due to licensing issues, the deodorant was replaced by a generic version in the remaster.

ESP Guitars

ESP Billboard in Kamurocho in Yakuza 0

The ESP Guitars^WP brand is featured on billboards in Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza 6.

GaGà Milano

In Yakuza 5, Shun Akiyama is seen wearing a watch by GaGà Milano.

Isuzu

Isuzu^WP branded fire trucks feature in Yakuza: Dead Souls, and there is an advert for the Isuzu GIGA truck on a billboard above the coin lockers.

Japan Tobacco

Cigarette packs from brands affiliated with Japan Tobacco^WP are seen throughout the series from Yakuza 0 onwards. Featured brands include Hi-Lite, Cabin King, Seven Stars, and Hope.

Sony

Sony^WP billboards are seen in Yakuza 6, and Kiryu's phone in this game is a Sony Xperia^WP. Judgment also features Sony billboards, but the phones in this game are generic models.

Steinway and Sons

In the original Yakuza, the grand piano in Ares is branded Steinway and Sons.

Alpha Industries

Lit sign in Kamurocho in Yakuza Kiwami

In Yakuza 0, Wen Hai Lee is seen wearing an Alpha Industries^WP N-3B parka over his standard attire when outside of his workplace. In Yakuza 6 and onwards, Taiga Saejima is also seen wearing the same parka.

In Yakuza Kiwami, there is a sign advertising the company.

Uber Eats

An Uber Eats^WP billboard is seen in Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name in Sotenbori.

Trivia

• Real world store item and business names are written in block capitals in the English localization of the original PlayStation 3 version of Yakuza 3.
• Yakuza 5 features so many real-life restaurants that the developers were ultimately forced to use pre-rendered and even photograph-based background sprites rather than modelling the restaurants' interiors in 3D.
• There are a number of Kamurocho businesses that share names with places in real-life Shinjuku^WP, including Alps, Pronto, Ebisuya, and Kotobuki Pharmacy. There is no evidence to show that these are actual tie-ins however.