Japanese Food, Beverage Company Asahi Says Personal Information of About 1.91 Mil. People Possibly Exposed in September Cyberattack

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:32 JST, November 27, 2025

Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. said Thursday the personal information of about 1.91 million people, including the names, addresses and phone numbers of customers and employees, has been or might have been exposed as a result of a cyberattack in late September.

The major food and beverage company also added that its computer systems are expected to be fully restored in February.

Asahi held its first press conference on the issue in Tokyo on Thursday, and Asahi Group Holdings President Atsushi Katsuki began the press conference with an apology.

“I would like to sincerely apologize for any difficulties caused to our stakeholders by the recent system disruption,” Katsuki said.

Recovery of the system will continue in December and beyond, according to the company.

The system disruption was triggered by a ransomware attack on Sept. 29.

On Oct. 7, Qilin – a hacking group believed to be based in Russia – released an online statement claiming responsibility for stealing Asahi’s financial documents and the personal information of the company’s employees. Katsuki said a ransom has not been paid to the hackers.

The system disruption left Asahi unable to receive orders for or send shipments of beer, other drinks, food products and other items. Asahi is still conducting these operations manually, such as taking orders via phone or fax.

Many shipments have been significantly delayed, and the company has been forced to limit the number of products it is handling.

October sales at Asahi Breweries, Ltd., which resumed shipments of its flagship Asahi Super Dry beer and other products, were above 90% of those recorded in the same month last year. Sales at Asahi Soft Drinks Co. were about 60%, and sales at Asahi Group Foods, Ltd. were more than 70% of those logged in October 2024.

Asahi also said its consolidated financial results for the period ending in December would likely be delayed. Katsuki said a deterioration in the company’s results would be inevitable.