Japan faces Asahi beer shortage after cyber-attack

Japan is facing a shortage of Asahi products, including beer and bottled tea, as the drinks giant grapples with the impact of a major cyber-attack that has impacted its operations in the country.

Most of the Asahi Group’s factories in Japan have been at a standstill since Monday, after the attack hit its ordering and delivering system, the firm has said.

Major Japanese retailers, including FamilyMart and Lawson, have now warned customers to expect shortages of Asahi products.

The BBC has contacted Asahi for comment.

Asahi has temporarily suspended orders and shipments of its products with “no prospect of resumption”, FamilyMart said in a statement on Thursday.

The firm – which is one of Japan’s largest convenience stores – said its Famimaru range of bottled teas, which are made by Asahi, are expected to be in short supply or out of stock.

“We sincerely apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused,” said FamilyMart, adding that it is working with Asahi to resume the sale of the products.

Lawson, another major Japanese retailer, also said it expected some Asahi products to be in short supply from today.

The retailer said it plans to stock up on alternative products to minimise the impact on customers.

Japanese supermarket chain, Life Cooperation, also warned that Asahi products may soon go out of stock.

Asahi is the biggest brewer in Japan and also owns Fullers in the UK and global brands including Peroni, Pilsner Urquell and Grolsch.

Japan accounts for about half of its total sales.

Asahi is best known for its Super Dry beer and also makes soft drinks and food products, as well as supplying own-brand goods to retailers like FamilyMart.

Asahi said earlier this week that the system failure is limited to its domestic operations. It also said there had been no “confirmed leakage of personal information of customer data”.

“We are actively investigating the cause and working to restore operations; however there is currently no estimated timeline for recovery,” it said at the time.