Japan is running out of its favorite beer after ransomware attack

Japan is on the brink of shortages of its favourite beer, Asahi Super Dry, as a cyber attack has halted production across most of Asahi Group’s 30 domestic factories and crippled ordering and delivery systems. The outage has left retailers expecting empty shelves as it stretches into its fourth day, with pubs potentially running dry of both draught and bottled stock.

Asahi declined to comment on shortages, but the company produces the equivalent of 6.7 million large bottles of beer per day in Japan, according to Financial Times calculations based on its 2024 sales figures.

The incident follows a wider wave of disruptions, with Japan’s National Police Agency reporting 222 official reports of ransomware in 2024, a rise of 12 percent from the previous year; experts from Nihon Cyber Defence describe Japanese firms as increasingly attractive targets due to defensive gaps and the prevalence of paid ransoms.

Asahi says there was no confirmed leakage of customer data, while the firm continues to investigate whether the attack was ransomware, and it has postponed eight new product launches indefinitely. according to Financial Times