7-Eleven vs Lawson vs FamilyMart: 7-Eleven Tops 26 of 47
Each figure comes from the chain’s own page. The Seven-Eleven Japan stores by prefecture map gives 21,956 stores at the end of September 2026. The FamilyMart store numbers by area page gives 16,466 on 30 September 2026. The Lawson store numbers by prefecture table gives 14,697 at the end of February 2026. We checked all three pages on 18 October 2026.
Added together, the three chains run 53,119 stores in Japan. 7-Eleven has 41.3% of them, FamilyMart 31.0% and Lawson 27.7%. These shares are our own calculation. Lawson’s count is from February and the other two are from September, so treat the shares as a close guide.
The numbers below say nothing about food or service. They answer two plainer questions: which chain has the most stores, and which one you will pass most often in the place you are staying.
| Item | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 7-Eleven | 21,956 stores | End of September 2026 |
| FamilyMart | 16,466 stores | 30 September 2026 |
| Lawson | 14,697 stores | End of February 2026 |
The chart puts the three national totals side by side, each with the date the chain gives for its count. 7-Eleven is first, FamilyMart second and Lawson third. The same order holds when you count stores per person.
The three chains at a glance
All three companies have their head offices in Tokyo. The table sets out the basic facts from each company profile.
| Chain | Stores in Japan | Founded | Head office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7-Eleven | 21,956 (end of September 2026) | Company 20 November 1973; first store May 1974, Toyosu | Chiyoda, Tokyo |
| FamilyMart | 16,466 (30 September 2026) | First store 1973, Sayama; company 1 September 1981 | Shibaura, Minato, Tokyo |
| Lawson | 14,697 (end of February 2026) | Company 15 April 1975 | Osaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo |
The Seven-Eleven Japan company profile dates the company to 20 November 1973. Its first store opened in Toyosu, Tokyo, in May 1974. 7-Eleven began in the United States in 1927. Since November 2005, the US company, 7-Eleven, Inc., has been owned outright by Seven-Eleven Japan. Our guide to who owns 7-Eleven has the full timeline.
The Lawson company profile gives 15 April 1975 as the founding date and a head office in Osaki, Shinagawa ward. The FamilyMart corporate history says the first FamilyMart opened in Sayama, Saitama, in 1973. The company itself was set up in September 1981. The FamilyMart company profile lists its head office in Shibaura, Minato ward.
Size looks different once you divide by population. Per 100,000 people, Japan has 17.7 7-Eleven stores, 13.3 FamilyMart stores and 11.9 Lawson stores.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 7-Eleven | 17.7 stores |
| FamilyMart | 13.3 stores |
| Lawson | 11.9 stores |
We worked out these rates with the population estimate for 1 October 2024. Taken together, the three chains have 42.9 stores per 100,000 people across Japan. For the rules you meet at the till, such as the age check for alcohol, see our guide to konbini rules in Japan.
Which chain has the most stores in each prefecture
7-Eleven leads in 26 of Japan’s 47 prefectures. Lawson leads in 11 and FamilyMart in 10. We compared each chain’s latest published count, prefecture by prefecture.
The dates differ by chain. The 7-Eleven and FamilyMart counts are from the end of September 2026, and Lawson’s count is from the end of February 2026.
The table below lists every prefecture where Lawson or FamilyMart is on top. For 7-Eleven it shows the best-known names among its 26.
| Chain | Prefectures | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| 7-Eleven | 26 | Hokkaido, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Kyoto, Fukuoka |
| Lawson | 11 | Aomori, Akita, Toyama, Wakayama, Tottori, Shimane, Oita and all four Shikoku prefectures |
| FamilyMart | 10 | Iwate, Ishikawa, Fukui, Gifu, Aichi, Mie, Osaka, Nara, Kagoshima, Okinawa |
7-Eleven leads in all seven Kanto prefectures around Tokyo. It also leads in Hokkaido, Kyoto and Fukuoka, three of the places foreign visitors stay most.
Lawson’s 11 sit mostly away from the biggest cities. They include Aomori and Akita in the far north of Honshu and Tottori and Shimane on the Sea of Japan coast. Lawson also leads in all four Shikoku prefectures: Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime and Kochi.
FamilyMart’s 10 include two big urban areas, Osaka and Aichi, home to Nagoya. It also leads in Okinawa, and in Kagoshima at the southern end of Kyushu.
In a few prefectures the gap between first and second place is small, and Lawson’s count is the oldest of the three. The order there could change when Lawson publishes a newer table. Our convenience stores by prefecture database lists all 47 prefectures with the counts for each chain.
7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart by region
Grouped into eight regions, 7-Eleven has the most stores in five. FamilyMart has the most in Chubu and Kansai, and Lawson has the most in Shikoku.
FamilyMart has 3,021 stores in the Kansai region against 2,985 for 7-Eleven and 2,805 for Lawson.
In the table, each cell gives the chain’s stores in the region. The figure in brackets is the number of prefectures where that chain has the most stores.
| Region | 7-Eleven | Lawson | FamilyMart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido (1 prefecture) | 991 (1) | 730 | 255 |
| Tohoku (6) | 1,494 (3) | 1,175 (2) | 1,108 (1) |
| Kanto (7) | 8,579 (7) | 4,623 | 5,544 |
| Chubu (9) | 3,469 (4) | 2,081 (1) | 3,529 (4) |
| Kansai (7) | 2,985 (3) | 2,805 (1) | 3,021 (3) |
| Chugoku (5) | 1,365 (3) | 970 (2) | 698 |
| Shikoku (4) | 399 | 616 (4) | 501 |
| Kyushu and Okinawa (8) | 2,674 (5) | 1,697 (1) | 1,810 (2) |
Shikoku is the one region where Lawson has more stores than 7-Eleven: 616 against 399, with FamilyMart at 501. Lawson leads in all four Shikoku prefectures.
Chubu and Kansai are split. FamilyMart has the most stores in both regions, 3,529 in Chubu and 3,021 in Kansai. Even so, 7-Eleven leads in 4 of Chubu’s 9 prefectures and in 3 of Kansai’s 7. In Chubu, FamilyMart leads in Aichi, Gifu, Ishikawa and Fukui. In Kansai it leads in Osaka, Nara and Mie.
Kanto is the clearest case. 7-Eleven has 8,579 stores across the seven Kanto prefectures, against 5,544 FamilyMart and 4,623 Lawson, and leads in every one.
Tohoku is the most mixed region. 7-Eleven leads in 3 of its 6 prefectures, Lawson in 2 (Aomori and Akita) and FamilyMart in 1 (Iwate). In Chugoku, 7-Eleven leads in 3 and Lawson in Tottori and Shimane.
In the prefectures where most visitors stay
We also counted the 10 prefectures with the most foreign guest nights in 2025. The ranking comes from Japan Tourism Agency figures. 7-Eleven has the most stores in 7 of them. FamilyMart leads in 3 (Osaka, Okinawa and Aichi), and Lawson leads in none.
The table lists the 10 from the most guest nights down. The highest count in each row is in bold.
| Prefecture | 7-Eleven | Lawson | FamilyMart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 2,943 | 1,639 | 2,443 |
| Osaka | 1,317 | 1,200 | 1,362 |
| Kyoto | 351 | 327 | 331 |
| Hokkaido | 991 | 730 | 255 |
| Okinawa | 211 | 269 | 336 |
| Fukuoka | 1,061 | 535 | 551 |
| Kanagawa | 1,540 | 1,067 | 1,013 |
| Aichi | 1,070 | 707 | 1,625 |
| Chiba | 1,196 | 589 | 651 |
| Yamanashi | 209 | 135 | 81 |
In all of Tokyo, 7-Eleven has 2,943 stores, FamilyMart 2,443 and Lawson 1,639. Our Tokyo convenience store counts also give stores per person.
In Osaka Prefecture the order changes. FamilyMart has 1,362 stores, 7-Eleven 1,317 and Lawson 1,200, as our Osaka convenience store counts show.
Kyoto Prefecture is the closest race of the ten: 351 7-Eleven, 331 FamilyMart and 327 Lawson stores. Kyoto also has the most foreign guest nights per store of any prefecture. That figure was 18,128 in 2025, about 5 times the figure for all of Japan (3,387). See our Kyoto convenience store counts for the full breakdown.
In all of Hokkaido, 7-Eleven leads the three with 991 stores, against 730 Lawson and 255 FamilyMart. The local chain Seicomart has even more, with 1,087 stores at the end of September 2026.
Our Hokkaido convenience store counts cover the three national chains and note Seicomart beside them.
Okinawa Prefecture has 336 FamilyMart, 269 Lawson and 211 7-Eleven stores, so 7-Eleven comes third there. Our Okinawa convenience store counts have the per-person figures.
The other five follow the national pattern, with one exception. Fukuoka Prefecture has 1,061 7-Eleven stores, 551 FamilyMart and 535 Lawson. Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, has 1,540 7-Eleven, 1,067 Lawson and 1,013 FamilyMart stores.
The exception is Aichi Prefecture, around Nagoya, where FamilyMart has 1,625 stores against 1,070 for 7-Eleven and 707 for Lawson. Chiba Prefecture, home to Narita Airport, has 1,196 7-Eleven, 651 FamilyMart and 589 Lawson stores. Yamanashi Prefecture, on the north side of Mount Fuji, has 209 7-Eleven, 135 Lawson and 81 FamilyMart stores.
Where each chain is strongest
Each chain has a different strongest prefecture. By share of the three chains’ stores, 7-Eleven peaks in Gunma at 58.7%, Lawson in Tottori at 51.1% and FamilyMart in Mie at 55.4%.
By raw count, Tokyo has the most stores of every chain: 2,943 7-Eleven, 2,443 FamilyMart and 1,639 Lawson.
The smallest counts sit in smaller prefectures. 7-Eleven has 52 stores in Kochi, Lawson 78 in Saga and FamilyMart 62 in Shimane. Even so, all three chains have stores in every one of the 47 prefectures.
Three prefectures are close races between the top two chains. Lawson’s figures date from the end of February 2026, and the others from the end of September 2026.
- Ehime: Lawson 209, FamilyMart 208 and 7-Eleven 141.
- Hyogo: 7-Eleven 694, Lawson 692 and FamilyMart 519.
- Iwate: FamilyMart 187, Lawson 180 and 7-Eleven 166.
With Lawson’s count from February and the others from September, read these three as ties.
Store density varies too. Okinawa has the most stores of the three chains per person, 55.7 per 100,000 people. Nara has the fewest, 33.1, against 42.9 for all of Japan.
Stores are busiest with visitors in a different set of places. For each store of the three chains, Kyoto had 18,128 foreign guest nights in 2025, Okinawa 11,289 and Tokyo 8,557.
Natural Lawson, Lawson Store 100 and the chains abroad
Lawson’s 14,697 stores in Japan include Natural Lawson and Lawson Store 100. The Lawson store table counts Lawson, Natural Lawson and Lawson Store 100 together as Lawson group stores, at the end of February 2026.
The count also includes stores run by the group companies Lawson Store 100, Lawson Kochi, Lawson Minami Kyushu and Lawson Okinawa. Every Lawson figure in this article covers all of these formats together.
When you compare Lawson vs 7-Eleven in any prefecture, Natural Lawson and Lawson Store 100 shops sit inside the Lawson number.
Abroad, Lawson had 7,793 stores at the end of February 2026. Most are in China, with 6,977. The rest are in Indonesia (351), the Philippines (236), Thailand (227) and Hawaii (2).
FamilyMart had 9,252 stores outside Japan on 30 September 2026, for 25,718 in all. The FamilyMart company profile gives another total, 25,263 at the end of February 2026, which counts area franchise stores in Japan and abroad. The two totals come from different dates.
Seven-Eleven Japan’s subsidiaries abroad include 7-Eleven, Inc., which runs stores in the United States and Canada. Its company profile lists 12,712 stores for 7-Eleven, Inc. and 67 for 7-Eleven Hawaii at the end of December 2025.
FamilyMart’s history page adds two dates. Its first franchise store opened in Funabashi, Chiba, in 1978, and the chain reached all 47 prefectures in 2006.
For food, our guide to Japanese convenience store food covers what to try at each chain and the 8% and 10% tax on food.
FAQ
Which convenience store is most common in Japan?
7-Eleven. It had 21,956 stores in Japan at the end of September 2026. FamilyMart had 16,466 on 30 September 2026, and Lawson had 14,697 at the end of February 2026. 7-Eleven also has the most stores of the three in 26 of the 47 prefectures.
Is FamilyMart or Lawson bigger in Japan?
FamilyMart has more stores in Japan: 16,466 on 30 September 2026, against 14,697 Lawson stores at the end of February 2026. Lawson leads in one more prefecture, though, with 11 against FamilyMart’s 10.
Which konbini will I see most in Osaka, Kyoto or Okinawa?
In Osaka Prefecture, FamilyMart has the most stores, with 1,362. In Kyoto Prefecture, 7-Eleven leads with 351, just ahead of FamilyMart’s 331 and Lawson’s 327. In Okinawa, FamilyMart leads with 336.
Are 7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart in every prefecture?
Yes. All three chains have stores in all 47 prefectures. The smallest counts are 7-Eleven in Kochi (52), Lawson in Saga (78) and FamilyMart in Shimane (62).
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