Japan faces a nationwide shortage of Asahi Super Dry beer as a devastating ransomware attack has forced the country’s largest brewer to shut down most domestic operations since Monday. The cyberattack disabled Asahi Group’s ordering and delivery systems, threatening to empty supermarket shelves and leave izakaya pubs without their signature draught beer within days.
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Supply Chain Paralysis Hits Retailers
Asahi’s 30 Japanese factories remain largely idle as the company struggles to restore critical systems disabled by the cyberattack. Retail giants including Lawson convenience stores have warned customers that Asahi products may disappear from shelves imminently. “I think we’ll run out of Super Dry in two or three days at supermarkets,” a major retailer executive confirmed, noting that while substitutes from Suntory or Kirin might help, many customers remain fiercely loyal to Asahi’s distinctive taste.
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The timing couldn’t be worse for Japan’s drinking culture, particularly as izakaya pubs rely heavily on Asahi’s draught and bottled products. Asahi normally produces approximately 6.7 million large bottles of beer daily in Japan, based on Financial Times calculations using 2024 sales data. The company has begun testing paper-based ordering systems in small-scale trials but acknowledges that manual processing cannot match its normal distribution capacity.
Ransomware Epidemic Targets Japanese Companies
This incident follows a disturbing pattern of cyberattacks against major Japanese corporations. According to Japan’s National Police Agency, reported ransomware attacks increased 12% to 222 cases in 2024, though security experts believe this represents only a fraction of actual incidents. Tokyo-based Nihon Cyber Defence notes that Japanese companies have become particularly attractive targets due to inadequate cybersecurity measures and historical willingness to pay ransoms through back channels.
The consequences extend beyond temporary disruption. A government survey revealed that 49% of Japanese companies hit by ransomware required at least one month to recover lost data. The Asahi attack mirrors recent incidents at other global manufacturers, including Jaguar Land Rover, which needed a £2 billion emergency credit line from the UK government after a month-long production shutdown.
National Security Implications and Response
Japan’s government recognized the growing threat by passing new cybersecurity legislation in May 2025, granting authorities expanded powers to combat cybercriminals and state-sponsored hackers. Itsunori Onodera, then chair of the government’s policy research council, warned that without urgent security upgrades, “the lives of Japanese people will be put at risk.” The legislation reflects mounting concern about critical infrastructure vulnerabilities following attacks on food, automotive, and healthcare sectors.
Asahi’s stock fell 2.6% following the attack announcement, reflecting investor concerns about the financial impact. The company has indefinitely postponed launches of eight new products, including fruit soda and protein bars, while focusing on restoring core operations. Asahi confirmed no customer data leakage to external parties but continues investigating whether ransomware caused the disruption.
Broader Industry Impact and Future Outlook
The attack’s ripple effects extend beyond beer production to Asahi’s soft drinks, baby food, and private-label manufacturing for Japanese retailers. While international operations, including Peroni Nastro Azzurro production in Europe, remain unaffected, the domestic shutdown demonstrates how single-point failures can cripple national supply chains. The incident follows warnings from ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, about increasing sophistication in attacks targeting food and beverage sectors.
Industry analysts predict accelerated adoption of cybersecurity frameworks across Japanese manufacturing, particularly following the government’s enhanced legal authority to intervene in cyber incidents. As manual workarounds prove inadequate for complex supply chains, companies face pressure to implement robust backup systems and incident response plans. The Asahi crisis serves as a wake-up call for industries worldwide about the tangible consequences of cyber vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.
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