Japanese probiotic drinks maker Yakult Honsha has confirmed that personal details of around 40,000 people were leaked after an unauthorised intrusion into its website.
The Tokyo-listed company spotted the breach on Monday, October 26, and disclosed the findings of its investigation in a statement on Friday, confirming that customer information had been compromised.
The leak affects three groups: people who sent enquiries through the company’s website, registered members of its school lunch portal “Tanoshī Kyūshoku” (Enjoyable School Lunches), and media contacts.
The exposed data includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, age groups, occupations and the text of enquiries. Members of the school lunch portal had their encrypted passwords and product preferences exposed as well. The attackers also accessed the full names of employees who handled customer enquiries.
There is some relief for those affected. Yakult said its website does not store credit card or bank details, so no financial information was taken.
The company has filed an initial report with Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission and informed the police. It has also urged people to stay alert to suspicious calls, messages or emails, stressing that it will never ask anyone for their password, account number or credit card details.
This is not the first time the Yakult name has been caught up in a data leak. In December 2023, its subsidiary Yakult Australia suffered a breach in which employee files ended up on the dark web.
The incident also adds to a worrying run of cyberattacks on Japanese food and drink companies. Frozen food maker Nichirei was hit in July, while beverage major Asahi Group Holdings faced an attack on its Japan business in September last year.
The breach comes at a mixed time for Yakult financially. For the fiscal year ended March 31, the company’s net sales fell 2.7% to ¥486.43 billion, operating profit dropped 18.4% to ¥45.19 billion, and profit attributable to owners of the parent slipped 2.9% to ¥44.23 billion.
The new fiscal year has started on a firmer note. In the April–June quarter, net sales rose 3.3% to ¥120.46 billion. Operating profit fell 7.5% to ¥10.09 billion, but profit attributable to owners of the parent climbed 17.2% to ¥13.59 billion.
For the full year ending March 31, 2027, Yakult expects net sales of ¥527 billion, operating profit of ¥44 billion and profit attributable to owners of the parent of ¥46.50 billion.