Asahi Cyberattack Disrupts Japan's Year-End Gift Season, Other Brewers Scale Back Offerings

Cyberattack Cripples Asahi Operations

Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd., a major Japanese beverage producer, has been grappling with a significant system failure since a cyberattack commenced around September 29, 2025. The attack, identified as ransomware, has severely disrupted the company's domestic operations, impacting its ability to process orders, manage shipments, and operate customer service desks across Japan. Initially, Asahi stated that no personal information or customer data had been leaked. However, by October 3, 2025, the company confirmed 'traces suggesting a potential unauthorized transfer of data', and by October 14, 2025, it admitted 'the possibility that personal information may have been subject to unauthorized data transfer'. The hacking group Qilin, believed to be based in Russia, claimed responsibility for the attack on October 7, 2025, asserting they had stolen approximately 27 GB of data, including financial documents, business plans, and employee personal information.

Widespread Operational Disruptions

The cyberattack has caused extensive operational disruptions within Asahi's Japanese divisions. Key systems affected include:

• Order and shipment operations at group companies in Japan.
• Call center services and customer service desks.
• Production at some domestic plants, with all 30 manufacturing sites initially halting operations.
• Critical enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and manufacturing execution systems (MES).

While production has partially resumed, the company has resorted to manual order processing and shipments to mitigate the impact. Asahi has also postponed the launch of 12 new products and delayed the announcement of its financial results for the third quarter of 2025. A clear timeline for full system recovery has not yet been provided by the company.

Ripple Effect on Japan's Year-End Gift Season

The prolonged system failure at Asahi has created a significant ripple effect across Japan's brewing industry, particularly impacting the crucial year-end gift season, known as oseibo. With Asahi products, especially its popular Super Dry beer, facing shortages, consumers have turned to other major brewers for alternatives. This surge in demand has led to unexpected challenges for competitors.

In response to the increased orders and to ensure the stability of their regular product supply, Suntory Holdings and Sapporo Breweries have announced a partial halt to the sales of their year-end beer gift sets. Sapporo will cease deliveries of 10 gift sets featuring its Yebisu Beer and other products to wholesalers. Similarly, Suntory will gradually suspend sales of 13 beer sets, including its Chinese zodiac-themed cans of The Premium Malt's, though five standard-design gift sets will remain available. Kirin Brewery Co. has not yet indicated any changes to its seasonal offerings.

Ongoing Uncertainty

The incident underscores the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber threats and its far-reaching consequences. Asahi continues its efforts to restore its systems, collaborating with external cybersecurity experts. The full financial impact on Asahi and the broader implications for the Japanese beverage market during this important sales period remain under review, with no immediate end to the disruptions in sight.