A cyberattack on Nichirei Group, Japan's largest frozen food supplier and cold-chain logistics provider, has disrupted food deliveries nationwide, forcing KFC Japan and other major retailers to shorten operating hours and suspend online ordering.
Nichirei Group disclosed on July 13 that its systems had experienced "failures caused by unauthorized access," affecting shipments to and from its refrigerated warehouses. The company confirmed on July 15 that the outage was caused by a cyberattack, although it declined to provide details on the nature of the incident "to prevent further damage". Nichirei has stated it hopes to resume operations on July 17, but no firm timeline for full recovery has been given.
KFC Japan, which outsources the delivery of chicken and other ingredients to Nichirei's logistics subsidiary, has warned that all of its more than 1,300 stores nationwide could be affected. The company has suspended mobile ordering and delivery services, with stores displaying notices that some menu items may be unavailable. "Some stores may be closed depending on the availability of ingredients," the company said.
The disruption has spread across the food industry. Aeon supermarkets have reported shortages of some frozen food items. Kura Sushi, a major conveyor-belt sushi chain, has experienced delivery delays for sushi ingredients and frozen products at dozens of stores in western Japan. York-Benimaru, a supermarket chain operating in northeastern Japan, has also reported shortages of boxed lunches and bakery goods.
Nichirei Group serves approximately 5,000 corporate clients across Japan, operating over 140 logistics bases that handle refrigerated, frozen, and fresh food storage and distribution. The system failure has also impacted small and medium-sized enterprises, including food suppliers for nursing homes and confectionery producers.
Nichirei acknowledged that personal information may have been accessed during the attack but has not disclosed further details. The incident marks the latest in a series of cyberattacks targeting Japanese corporations, following ransomware attacks on Asahi Breweries and Muji in recent years.
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