Retail in Asia

In Sectors

Japan: 2009 beer shipments at all-time low

Japan’s beer shipments in 2009 fell 2.1 percent from a year earlier to a record-low 472.5 million cases, while shipments of beer-like alcoholic drinks expanded, according to data released Friday by the country’s top five brewers.

It was the fifth straight year for shipments to fall to an all-time low.