Japan’s favorite beer might soon be a rare sight on store shelves and in bars, as a major cyberattack has forced the country’s largest brewer, Asahi Group Holdings, into an unprecedented crisis. The ransomware attack, which struck on Monday, September 29, 2025, has paralyzed much of Asahi’s domestic operations, leaving the nation’s retail and hospitality sectors scrambling for alternatives and raising alarms about the growing threat of cybercrime to critical industries.
According to Reuters, Asahi suspended its order processing, shipping, and call center functions in Japan after the cyberattack triggered a total system outage. By Friday, October 3, the situation had entered its fifth day with “no resolution in sight,” as a company spokesperson told Agence France-Presse. The impact has been immediate and widespread, with restaurants, bars, and stores running perilously low on Asahi products, including its flagship Super Dry beer, Nikka Whisky, and even non-alcoholic beverages.
“It’s a bit of a problem,” admitted Tomiko Yano, chef at Tokyo’s Kushiyaki Tosaka restaurant, in comments reported by Reuters. “We specialise in yakitori (skewered chicken) and it pairs really well with Super Dry. A lot of customers say that, so I’m a little worried (about the shortage).” The eatery, which normally serves only Asahi-branded beer, was on its last keg by Friday and had been forced to bring in beer from rival Sapporo a day earlier. The disruption is being felt across the retail sector, too, with convenience store operators Lawson, FamilyMart, and 7-Eleven all warning customers to expect shortages and preparing to stock alternative products.
Asahi’s problems began when the ransomware attack crippled its logistics network, cutting off deliveries of its most popular drinks. For nearly a week, shipments of Asahi Super Dry—a staple in Japanese bars and homes—have failed to reach their destinations. The company’s order-processing systems, call centers, and customer service units have all been disabled, though, crucially, the production lines themselves have not been directly hit. Still, the inability to distribute products means that many of Asahi’s roughly 30 domestic factories have been forced to sit idle, with distribution largely at a standstill, according to The Financial Times.
In an effort to keep some business flowing, Asahi began manually processing orders for certain products on Wednesday, October 1, by dispatching staff to visit customers in person and handwrite orders. However, this was described as a “temporary and urgent response,” and the company has not committed to continuing such measures after early October. On Friday, Asahi prioritized outgoing shipments for alcoholic beverages, starting with the first batch of manually filled orders, but the scale of these efforts is limited. Large-scale shipments remain on hold, and the company says it cannot provide a precise timeframe for full recovery.
The cyberattack has also delayed more than a dozen planned product launches, including new soft drinks and confectionery lines that were slated for release this month. Eight new products have been indefinitely postponed, the Financial Times reported. Asahi’s struggles risk giving an edge to competitors in Japan’s fiercely contested beer market, with rivals Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory poised to benefit from the sudden vacuum.
On the financial front, the damage has been swift. Asahi’s shares, listed on the Tokyo exchange, initially fell more than 5% following the attack and, according to Bloomberg, tumbled as much as 12% over the week—a sharp reversal after a 7% gain earlier in the year. The company is still assessing the full impact on its earnings. The shockwaves have not spread to Asahi’s international business, which includes European beer brands like Peroni and Grolsch; these operations remain unaffected, the company emphasized.
Asahi has confirmed that ransomware was responsible for the attack on its servers. The company is working with outside specialists and investigative authorities to restore its computer systems, but, as of early October, it remains unclear how soon full operations can resume. Investigators have also discovered indications of potential unauthorized data transfers, prompting Asahi to take immediate action to contain and respond to the incident. Despite these concerns, the company has stressed that there is no evidence so far of stolen personal or customer information.
“Assuring product supply to customers has been our top priority,” said Atsushi Katsuki, Asahi’s president and CEO, as quoted by RTTNews. He expressed regret for the disruption and stated that the firm is attempting “to restore systems as quickly as possible while implementing alternative measures.” The company hopes to restart call center operations next week to better handle customer inquiries, but the timeline for a complete return to normalcy remains uncertain.
The crisis has highlighted the growing menace of ransomware attacks in Japan and globally. According to Japan’s National Police Agency, a record 116 ransomware cases were reported in the first half of 2025, and 222 were formally recorded in 2024—a 12% increase from the previous year. Experts believe the true number of attacks is much higher, given the tendency of Japanese corporations to quietly settle extortion demands. Erin Eisenrich, Vice President at Berkley Technology Underwriters, told Financial Times, “I think we’re going to see more events attacking the manufacturing and the operational piece. Call centers and things like that feel a little bit more in the traditional vein of what we’ve seen in the past—but that is exactly the kind of exposure that we’re underwriting when we underwrite tech E&O.”
The Asahi breach is just the latest in a string of cyberattacks targeting global companies. In recent months, luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, retailers Marks & Spencer, and the Co-op Group in the UK have all suffered high-profile ransomware incidents. In Japan, the food and beverage sector has proven particularly vulnerable, with analysts at Nihon Cyber Defence pointing to weaker digital defenses and a reluctance to publicize or confront extortionists.
For now, Japan is “days away” from running out of Asahi beer, according to the BBC, and shelves could soon be empty of other popular drinks like bottled teas and soft drinks. FamilyMart has already warned that its Famimaru line may soon run out of stock. The disruption is a stark reminder of how fragile supply chains can be in the digital age—and how even the most iconic brands are not immune to the growing threat of cybercrime.
As the weekend approaches, beer lovers across Japan are left to wonder when their favorite Super Dry will return, or if they’ll have to settle for a rival brew. One thing’s clear: the attack on Asahi has left a bitter aftertaste not just for the company, but for an entire nation that takes pride in its beer.
