Japan: Asahi Beer to shut up two breweries in Japan

One of Japan's biggest beer companies is planning to shut down two of its domestic plants, as part of moves to consolidate its operations, NHK World Japan reported on February 16.

The Asahi Beer plants are located in Kanagawa Prefecture south of Tokyo and Ehime Prefecture in western Japan.

Each year they turn out a total of 300 million large bottles favored at restaurants and bars.

Asahi Group Holdings says people are not going out to drink as much during the pandemic, so it decided to close the plants at the end of January next year.

It also says it does not see the number of domestic beer drinkers increasing in the future as Japan's population is on the decline.

The company says it will give employees the opportunity to be transferred or will assist them finding employment elsewhere.

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