Japan investigates four breweries over suspected price coordination

Japan’s Fair Trade Commission is investigating whether Asahi Breweries, Kirin Brewery, Sapporo Breweries and Suntory worked together to raise beverage prices. Officials searched the companies’ offices, with compulsory inspections of their headquarters reported on Oct 10, in an inquiry into possible breaches of the Antimonopoly Act.¹²

Focus of the inquiry

According to the Japan Times, the commission is investigating whether the brewers aligned the dates and amounts of increases for beer, low-malt products and similar drinks over a number of years. Both reports say the four brewers make up over nine-tenths of Japan’s beer market. The suspected arrangements concerned shipping prices set by brewers before products moved through wholesalers to retailers and hospitality businesses, the Guardian reported.¹²

According to the Japan Times, officials from the companies held informal discussions after industry-group meetings, exchanging information about planned shipping-price increases and producing price tables. The newspaper also reported that some officials had acknowledged cartel activity during the investigation. These claims have not been independently confirmed in the dossier.²

The Guardian reported that sales managers and other executives were suspected of holding secret meetings to align retail-price increases. It said the commission suspected the companies of avoiding normal price competition in order to protect profits. The four breweries said they would cooperate with authorities, according to the report.¹

Management scrutiny

The investigation is also considering whether senior management at some of the companies knew that details of negotiated shipping-price increases had come from exchanges among competitors, the Japan Times reported. The commission is examining whether top officials understood the origin of that information.²

Compulsory inspections permit investigators to search premises and take evidence under court warrants, according to the Japan Times. Companies found to have fixed prices illegally can face financial surcharges and orders intended to prevent repeat violations. The Guardian reported that the inquiry could also lead to a criminal complaint.¹²

Price rises and market context

The four brewers most recently increased prices at the same time in April, after previous simultaneous increases in October 2022 and October 2023, according to the Guardian. The newspaper said beer and happoshu prices had risen repeatedly amid higher raw-material and logistics costs, though it reported that the commission was investigating whether coordination went beyond those stated pressures.¹

Japan’s alcohol consumption has declined over recent decades, the Guardian reported. The newspaper reported that Japan’s alcohol market was worth ¥3.8tn ($24.3bn) in 2024; beer comprised 30% of that total, while happoshu and third-category beer combined represented 11.9%. Shares in all four breweries fell after the raids, it said.¹

The Guardian described the brewery inquiry as the first investigation of its kind in Japan’s food and beverage industry. It also reported that the commission had raided six Japanese ice-cream makers over alleged cartel activity three months earlier.¹