Beer market in Japan - statistic & facts
Beer is the alcoholic beverage of choice for casual drinking and at social events in Japan. The industry developed rapidly in the last century with the help of trained brewers from overseas and the founding of three of the four industry leaders of today. Although the country is renowned for its national beverage, sake, beer has become the most produced brewed alcoholic drink. The four breweries—Asahi Breweries, Kirin Brewery Company, Sapporo Brewery, and Suntory Beer—have formed a rigid market, leaving little room for new entrants. The number of registered microbreweries has been increasing, but craft beer production is mostly operated as local side businesses that cannot rival the market leaders.
