Kirin cuts canned beer prices as beer tax falls

Kirin Brewery, one of Japan’s major brewers, has revised its prices to coincide with the October 2026 liquor tax reform. From October deliveries, it has lowered shipping prices for canned beer such as its flagship Ichiban Shibori, and raised prices for happoshu (low-malt beer-style drinks) such as Tanrei Green Label and canned chuhai such as Hyoketsu. The specific new prices had not been made public at the time of the announcement.

Beer gets cheaper, “beer-like drinks” get dearer

In Japan, the tax rates on “beer”, “happoshu” and “third-category beer” have long differed according to malt content and ingredients. Happoshu is a beer-style drink with a reduced proportion of malt, while third-category beer is made with ingredients other than malt, among other things, to bring the tax down even further. Under this reform, the tax on beer fell by 9.1 yen per 350 ml can. Happoshu and third-category beer rose by 7.26 yen, and canned chuhai (a canned drink made by mixing shochu or another distilled spirit with fruit juice and carbonated water) rose by 7 yen. Kirin revised the prices of about 180 items, covering, in principle, all of its brands of beer-type drinks and other products affected by the reform.

What changes when the price gap narrows?

For a long time in Japan, cheap happoshu and third-category beer dominated the shelves aimed at households. But as the difference in tax narrows, so does the difference in shop prices. The industry expects beer consumption to rise as the gap between beer and cheaper beer-style drinks closes. The question to watch is whether people who chose happoshu on price will pay a little extra and return to beer. For Japan’s brewers, who have developed products around the tax categories, it could also be an opportunity to reshuffle which products sell best.

Enjoying them in Europe

The price revisions in Japan will not necessarily show up straight away in European shop prices. Even so, knowing how Japan separates “beer” from “beer-like drinks” can help when you choose Japanese cans at an Asian grocery. Check the classification on the label, and try a beer with a distinct malt aroma alongside a lighter happoshu or chuhai. Pair them with salty dishes such as yakitori or fried food, and you will get a sense of what people in Japan actually drink day to day.