Japanese brewing giant Asahi hit by cyber-attack

Japanese brewing giant Asahi has been hit by a cyber-attack that has caused a “systems failure” affecting the company’s shipping and customer service operations.

Asahi said there had been no “confirmed leakage of personal information of customer data” and its European operations, including the UK, were not affected.

But the company said that its order and shipment operations in Japan and customer service operations had been suspended.

Asahi is the biggest brewer in Japan, but also owns global beer brands including Peroni, Pilsner Urquell and Grolsch. It also owns Fullers in the UK, which is brewed in West London.

Fullers produces London Pride, as well cider and soft drinks brand Cornish Orchards and craft cask brewer Dark Star.

Asahi apologised to its customers and business partners in a statement.

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

“The system failure is limited to our operations within Japan.”

“None of Asahi’s manufacturing operations in Europe, including its UK beer supply, are impacted by this incident”, it added.

About half of Asahi Group Holdings’ sales take place in Japan.

In a report last year, Asahi listed a cyber-attack as among the main risks it faced in the medium to short term.

It assessed that such an attack could potentially lead to an interruption of its business, create cashflow issues, and damage its brand.

In the 2024 report, the company noted a number of ways in which it was responding, including assessing the maintenance of its security system.

In the UK, a number of big businesses have been hit by cyber attacks in recent months including Harrods, Jaguar Land Rover, Marks and Spencer and the Co-op.

The BBC has asked Asahi for further detail on the impact to its Japanese operations.

In recent years, Japan’s has faced a challenging domestic market, with more young people choosing not to drink.

Speaking last year, the company’s chief executive Atsushi Katsuki said it was aiming to double its share of of beverages with zero or low alcohol to 20% of its overall beverage sales.