Japanese sales of beer and happoshu, fell by 7.7% in the first half of 2003 to 3.03 million kilolitres, according to Japan's five major brewers. That is the biggest drop since 1992 when Kirin, Suntory, Asahi, Sapporo and Orion, began jointly monitoring the market, revealed the statistics, based on a survey carried out by the companies.

Sales of happoshu, low-malt beer, fell by 2.0% in January through June this year due to a tax hike in May, said the breweries. The government raised the liquor tax on happoshu on May 1, nudging consumers to switch to cheaper low-alcohol-content beverages, industry officials said

In terms of market share, Asahi remained the market leader according to the latest data, with 39.3%, followed by Kirin with 35.8%, Sapporo with 13.3% and Suntory with 10.9%.

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