Key facts
- Japan's Fair Trade Commission raided four major brewers on Oct. 7.
- The brewers are suspected of forming a cartel to raise prices of beer and beer-like drinks.
- Asahi Breweries, Kirin Brewery, Sapporo Breweries, and Suntory Spirits are targeted.
- Sales representatives allegedly met secretly to exchange information and coordinate price hikes.
- The investigation is the first compulsory probe by the FTC into the food and beverage sector.
- The domestic market for beer and low-malt beer totaled about 1.6 trillion yen in 2024.
Japan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) raided the offices of four major brewers on October 7, 2026, on suspicion of violating the antimonopoly law by forming a cartel to raise prices of beer and beer-like drinks. This marks the first compulsory investigation by the FTC involving food and beverage companies.
The targeted companies are Asahi Breweries, Kirin Brewery, Sapporo Breweries, and Suntory Spirits, all of which hold significant market shares. According to a source familiar with the matter, the brewers are alleged to have colluded over an extended period. Sales representatives from these companies are believed to have held secret meetings, possibly after regular gatherings of the Brewers Association of Japan, to exchange information and coordinate price increases for beer, happoshu (low-malt beer), and cheaper "third category" beer-like beverages.
The FTC also reportedly searched the Brewers Association of Japan as part of its investigation. Domestic sales of beer and low-malt beer totaled approximately 1.6 trillion yen ($10 billion) in 2024, according to the National Tax Agency.
Given the potential broad impact on consumers, the FTC may consider filing a criminal complaint with prosecutors. All four companies acknowledged the investigation and pledged cooperation. The brewers had consecutively raised prices in October 2022, October 2023, and April 2025, citing rising raw material and energy costs, as well as tax revisions that unified the tax on beer and beer-like drinks.