TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) -

McDonald's Japan on Friday said it had halted operations at

many stores nationwide due to a system disruption, with media

reporting technical issues were also reported in Australia and

Hong Kong.

A McDonald's Australia spokesperson told the Guardian

newspaper that it was aware of a technology outage currently

affecting its restaurants in the country and was working to

resolve it.

The New York Times said that McDonald's Hong Kong was

also experiencing a "computer system failure", stating that the

mobile ordering and self-ordering kiosks were not functioning.

Many McDonald's shops in Japan stopped taking in-person and

mobile customer orders because of a system disruption, the

spokesperson at McDonald's Holdings Company Japan said,

adding that the company was working to restore operations soon.

The chain has nearly 3,000 shops across Japan, it says on

its website.

McDonald's Corp did not immediately respond to a Reuters'

request for a comment.