Japan's Food Sector Under Siege: Nichirei Cyberattack Disrupts Asian Supply Chains

Tokyo-listed Nichirei Group has confirmed a cyberattack disrupted its frozen-food and logistics operations after system failures on Monday. The company revealed that some servers containing customer data were compromised, prompting Nichirei to temporarily halt operations.

■30% of Nichirei's logistics and frozen-food operations impacted - Potential exposure of customer information - Japan's third major cyberattack in the past 12 months (Asahi, Nichirei, and another food company) Nichirei has set up an emergency response team to investigate the breach and plans to gradually resume operations from July 17. The financial impact of the attack is still being assessed, though the company remains committed to its August 7 earnings report. Nichirei reported a 2% increase in net sales and a 1% rise in operating profit to Y38.99bn for the year ended March 31, 2026. The company forecasts net sales of Y609.40bn and operating profit of JPY33.80bn for the nine-month transition period ending December 31, 2026. This follows Japan's September Asahi cyberattack, which affected 40% of its domestic operations.

Markets are viewing this as a persistent trend in Japan's food sector security vulnerabilities. Nichirei's reliance on logistics chains could pose as significant a risk as disruptions in U.S. or European supply networks. Japan's three major food companies hit by cyberattacks in the past 12 months is driving pressure for increased sector security investments.