Wendy’s The Foie Gras Rossini burger from Wendy’s new Japan Premium menu. 
 
 How does fast-food chain Wendy’s plan on luring Japanese diners back to its restaurants after a two-year hiatus from the market? Truffles and foie gras. 
 
 Earlier this week, Wendy’s opened its first new store in Japan since it withdrew from the country in 2009. The restaurant, located in Tokyo’s fashionable Omotesando shopping district, saw the launch of Wendy’s Japan Premium menu, which includes such fare as the Foie Gras Rossini Burger: a burger topped with a luxurious slab of goose liver and priced at ¥1,280 (US$16). Lovers of high-end fungi may opt instead for the Truffle and Porcini Grilled Chicken Sandwich, which will set customers back ¥920. Other premium items include a wasabi-avocado burger and a chili burger. 
 
 The re-launch of Wendy’s in Japan comes after it withdrew from the country two years ago, shutting its 71 stores that it operated in a joint venture with Zensho Holdings, a beef-bowl chain. This time, Wendy’s has teamed up with Higa Industries, a restaurant operator that is the main franchisee for Domino’s Pizza in Japan. Wendy’s said it expects to open as many as 700 restaurants in Japan. 
 
 To compare, McDonald’s already has almost 3,600 outlets in the country and is leaning on a special menu of gut-busting burgers to maintain its position as the market’s leader. 
 
 While fancy ingredients may seem odd in a fast-food context, Wendy’s isn’t the first to do so in Japan. Last year, Japanese branches of American-diner chain Denny’s offered a special truffle menu that included a dish it dubbed “Beef Rossini style” — beef topped with foie gras and sliced truffles, covered in a demi-glace reduction. The inspiration for the dish, like the new Wendy’s burger, was the same: A French classic called Tournedos Rossini. ||||| Wendy's has a new burger, and it's not for the cost-conscious.It's a foie gras and truffle-festooned burger that costs $16. But the trip to the restaurant will cost you much more — this burger is available only in Japan It marks the return of Wendy's — the third-largest fast-food chain in the U.S., now on track to overtake second-place Burger King — to Japan after a two-year break. The first new Wendy's in the country opened this week in a luxury shopping area in Tokyo.The Japanese franchisee developed the luxurious 1,280-yen sandwich. The folks at Wendy's International Inc.'s corporate offices in Dublin, Ohio, said they "really don't have anything to do with it."The goose liver-topped burger won't show up in the U.S. any time soon. Wendy's said its most expensive items here are in the $5-to-$6 range.Chief Executive Emily Brolick has said Wendy's will aim to eventually triple its number of foreign restaurants to about 1,000. Other fast-food giants, including KFC owner Yum Brands Inc., are also looking overseas for growth opportunities.Hence McDonald's is offering the Chicken Maharaja Mac in India, where many residents don't eat beef for religious reasons. And KFC sells congee rice porridge in China.Away from the U.S., companies such as Wendy's are also more shielded from the slew of "better burger" fast-casual brands, such as Five Guys and Smashburger, which are steadily poaching fast-food customers, said Nick Setyan, a restaurant industry analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc.In some countries, he said, McDonald's is an event destination."As these chains go abroad, they capitalize on that perception by evolving into a more higher-end offering," Setyan said. "The 'Americanness' of the brand connotes a higher-end if not elite experience, as opposed to the 'get in, get out' roots in the U.S."
– For two years, Japan's fast-food lovers were forced to go without Wendy's. Now the chain is back—with a bang. Its first new store to open in the country will serve up the Foie Gras Rossini Burger, which, yes, is topped with foie gras and costs 1,280 yen, or around $16. The Tokyo store will also serve a Truffle and Porcini Grilled Chicken Sandwich and a wasabi-avocado burger, reports the Wall Street Journal. The paper explains that Wendy's pulled out of Japan in 2009, shuttering its 71 stores. This time around, it has teamed up with a new partner (which also happens to be behind the country's Domino's) and has plans to blanket 700 stores throughout the country. If you're interested in the luxurious burger, though, you'll have to make a trip overseas. Wendy's corporate office (located in Dublin, Ohio) says they "really don't have anything to do with" the new menu item, which won't be popping up in the US, the Los Angeles Times reports.