Japan is bracing for a potential shortage of Asahi beer after a cyber attack forced the brewing giant to halt production across its domestic factories.
The company confirmed on Monday that a system failure, attributed to a hack, had crippled its Japanese operations. This necessitated the suspension of all order and shipment activities, effectively bringing most of its 30 factories nationwide to a standstill.
Consequently, major retailers including 7-Eleven Japan and FamilyMart are reportedly issuing warnings about impending shortages of Asahi products as existing stock levels rapidly deplete.
It is thought Asahi is just days away from running out of stock of its signature Super Dry lager as inventories are depleted, according to reports.
The group’s call centre and customer service desks have also been impacted, although it said on Monday that customer data did not appear to have been stolen.
Asahi said it was “actively investigating the cause and working to restore operations; however, there is currently no estimated timeline for recovery”.
It added the issues were limited to its Japanese operations and not its wider global business.
Asahi owns Fullers in the UK, as well as worldwide brands including Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell.
It is understood the hackers disabled the firm’s ordering and delivery system.
This has meant the firm has also had to put plans on hold to launch a raft of new products, such as soft drinks and some food ranges it also produces, reports said.
Asahi has been approached for comment.
Meanwhile, Japan's long-governing Liberal Democratic Party will choose a new leader on Saturday to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Three of the five candidates in Saturday's intraparty vote are seen as the favorites. They include a woman who could become Japan's first female prime minister, the son of a former prime minister and a veteran moderate.
The new party president is still likely to become prime minister because the LDP still has the most seats in the lower house, which chooses the prime minister, and opposition groups are splintered.
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