Sasebo Tamaya closes its main building after 106 years at the site

Sasebo Tamaya, a department store run by the Tanaka Maru family for over a century, closed its nine-storey main building on 31 January 2026, ending 106 years of trading at the site in Sasebo's Sakaemachi district. The business descends from a kimono wholesaler founded in Saga in 1806; the family opened a branch in Sasebo in 1894 and converted it into the department store 'Tamaya' in 1920, building the current nine-storey landmark in 1965.

The store shrank for years before it closed. From the 2010s, seismic diagnosis was repeatedly delayed and redevelopment plans postponed. In December 2023 the ground-floor food hall was handed to local supermarket operator Joyful Sun; in July 2024 most tenants were told to leave; by September 2024 the store traded from the first floor alone, selling sandwiches, cosmetics and confectionery from a footprint roughly the size of a convenience store. Most full-time staff had left or were leaving.

Management flip-flopped on the exit. In April 2025 the company announced it would close on 30 June 2025 and run a temporary store nearby; on 18 June 2025 it retracted that, dissolving the Sakae-Minato redevelopment preparation union after construction costs surged. In December 2025 it announced the final closure for 31 January 2026. Former employees were suing the company over unpaid retirement allowances.

The final day drew crowds: an opera performance at the entrance from 17:45, the closing bell at 18:00. Chairman Zenho Tanakamaru said the family had 'lost management strength within a few years and exposed ethical problems'. The store continues from a temporary shop at affiliate Tamaya Shoji's office in Manzucho from March 2026; the main building is to be rebuilt as a commercial facility.