Asahi ‘days away’ from running out of stock in Japan after cyberattack

Japan is reportedly set for a shortage of Asahi beer after the popular brand was forced to stop factory production because of a cyber attack.

The Japanese brewing giant revealed on Monday it had suffered a system failure caused by a hack, which was affecting its operations in Japan.

It prompted a pause of all order and shipment operations in the country, leaving most of its 30 nationwide factories at a standstill.

Luckily, the issues were limited to its Japanese operations and not its wider global business.

But local retailers such as 7-Eleven Japan and FamilyMart are facing shortages of Asahi products on their shelves as stocks come under pressure.

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’.

Asahi owns Fullers in the UK, as well as worldwide brands including Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell.

It is understood that 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.

Last Christmas, those hoping for a pint of cold Guinness in Wales were disappointed to find many Cardiff pubs had completely run out of the black stuff.

Diageo, which operates Guinness, said demand last year was at ‘unprecedented levels’, forcing them to raid their reserves to increase shipments to the UK.