Japan raids beer giants over alleged price cartel
Asahi Breweries, Kirin Brewery, Sapporo Breweries, and Suntory are under investigation over suspicions they colluded to hike beverage prices in a violation of anti-monopoly laws.
Cans of beer are pictured at the Asahi Group Holdings’ Ibaraki Brewery, which produces about 5.9 million cans of beer daily, during a media tour of the facility in Moriya city, Ibaraki Prefecture on Sep 7, 2026. (File photo: AFP/Philip Fong)
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
TOKYO: Japanese authorities raided four major beer manufacturers on Wednesday (Oct 7) over suspicions they colluded to hike beverage prices in a violation of anti-monopoly laws, a source familiar with the matter and the firms said.
Under investigation are Asahi Breweries, Kirin Brewery, Sapporo Breweries, and Suntory – four giants that reportedly make up around 90 per cent of Japan’s beer market share.
In a first, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) conducted on-site inspections to probe “the allegations regarding a wholesale beer pricing cartel”, the source, requesting anonymity, told AFP.
The price-fixing has likely been unfolding over the past few years, during which representatives from the four companies are believed to have met up periodically to discuss pricing and the timing of the hike, the source said.
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Recent years have seen these firms raise beer prices on multiple occasions, citing the rising costs of raw material and logistics, local media said.
All four companies confirmed they are under investigation, pledging their intention to “fully cooperate”.
Suntory, for one, said in a statement that it is “undergoing an on-site inspection by the Fair Trade Commission on suspicion of breaching the anti-monopoly act in relation to its alcohol trading activities.”
The raid follows a similar cartel probe by the JFTC earlier this year into the country’s six major ice cream firms.
They allegedly coordinated price hikes for years beyond what was justified by a spike in raw ingredient costs.
Source: AFP/lk
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
