Brief
Japan’s four biggest brewers raided over alleged price‑fixing
The Fair Trade Commission raided the offices of the four dominant breweries amid accusations they coordinated retail price hikes.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission conducted raids on the offices of Asahi Breweries, Kirin Brewery, Suntory Beer and Sapporo Breweries on Wednesday, suspecting the quartet of colluding to set beverage prices, the Guardian reported.
The four firms together hold over 90% of the domestic market. The commission’s secretary‑general, Hiroo Iwanari, confirmed an investigation but gave no further details. Media sources said executives allegedly met secretly to coordinate the timing and scale of price increases, which have ranged from a few yen to several dozen yen per unit.
Sales managers are said to have aligned hikes across beer, low‑malt "happoshu" and third‑category beer, with the latest coordinated rise occurring in April last year. The breweries have pledged cooperation, while their shares fell after the raids.
Key facts
- Fair Trade Commission raided Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo breweries (theguardian.com)
- The four breweries control more than 90% of Japan’s beer market (theguardian.com)
- Investigators suspect coordinated retail price hikes ranging from a few yen to several dozen yen (theguardian.com)
- Shares of all four companies fell after the raids (theguardian.com)
Sources
- [1] theguardian.com — originally reported as “Japan beer giants raided over suspicions they colluded to set the price of beverages”
