Cyberattack on Nichirei Disrupts Supply Chain for KFC, Aeon and Kura Sushi

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A cyberattack on Nichirei, Japan's largest frozen food company, has triggered supply disruptions across the retail and restaurant sectors, with KFC, Aeon-affiliated supermarkets, and Kura Sushi among the businesses affected.

Nichirei disclosed on July 13 that unauthorized access had caused a system failure disrupting shipments of frozen food and operations at its cold storage warehouses.

The company works with roughly 5,000 business partners, and the outage has increasingly rippled through supply chains as it drags on. A Nichirei spokesperson told Kyodo News on July 15 that no recovery timeline has been set and that the company is continuing to investigate.

Store Operations Left Uncertain

Japan KFC Holdings, which relies on Nichirei to deliver ingredients for its Original Chicken and other menu items, said the disruption affects all of its more than 1,300 locations nationwide.

The company has not identified which stores will close, saying operations from July 15 onward remain fluid and that reduced menus or shortened hours are possible. Online ordering through KFC's app and website has also been suspended, with stores posting notices to explain the situation to customers.

Shortages Spread Across Retail and Dining

An Aeon representative said some of its group supermarkets are experiencing shortages linked to the Nichirei outage. Kura Sushi reported delivery delays and missing shipments of sushi ingredients and frozen products at some of its Kansai-area locations.

TableMark, a major producer of frozen udon and other frozen foods, said it has been unable to ship household and commercial products to its business partners because of the system failure.

Pan Pacific International Holdings, operator of the discount chain Don Quijote, said some of its stores are also facing shortages of certain food items.

York-Benimaru, a Tohoku-based supermarket chain that outsources part of its distribution center operations to Nichirei, said deliveries have been delayed, leading to shortages of items including boxed lunches and bakery goods.