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Asahi sacks Japanese actor from low-alcohol beer ad over drunken antics
Asahi Breweries has cut ties with Japanese actor Ryo Yoshizawa, who was hired to promote the brewer’s low-alcohol beer, after a drunken mishap.
Japanese brewer Asahi has terminated its contract with the 30-year-old film and TV star after he became drunk and broke into his neighbour’s apartment.
Described by one fashion magazine as having “national treasure-class handsomeness”, Yoshizawa was working with Asahi on an ad campaign for the brewer’s 3.5% Super Dry Dry Crystal beer.
However, Asahi Group Holdings has decided to “terminate our contract” with Yoshizawa, a spokesperson told Shiori Shimizu said Tuesday.
“As an alcohol beverage company, we consider his actions unacceptable,” Shimizu said. The brewer has declared it will no longer use Yoshizawa in any of its future advertisements.
Amuse, the actor’s talent agency, released a statement on Monday in which it gave details of the incident. It said Yoshizawa was “drunk” and “accidentally made his way into an apartment room next to his.”
Local media quoted the actor, who starred in 2019 war epic Kingdom and 2021 sci-fi action film Tokyo Revengers, as telling police: “I’ve lost my memories. I think I just went in without asking, because I wanted to use the bathroom.”
Yoshizawa’s next upcoming project, Baban Baban Ban Vampire, a live-action adaptation of the manga series, is set to premiere to Japanese audiences in February 2025.
Asahi announced its first half results for 2024 in August, showing growth despite revenue for the first half of the year being “slightly lower than expected” due to market conditions in Oceania.
Asahi Group Holdings president and group CEO Atsushi Katsuki noted during the 2024 half year results presentation that “growth in the non-alcoholic beer and ready to drink alcohol beverage categories also contributed to the increase in earnings”.
No- and low-alcohol drinks will generate 50% of Asahi’s beverage sales by 2040, the Japanese multinational’s chief executive said last spring.
Japanese consumers, in a bid to be more health-conscious, are rejecting beer, wine and spirits, creating a gap in the market for drinks in the no- and low-alcohol category.
“It’s a big opportunity as long as we can go down the premium path,” Katsuki told the Financial Times. “Among global players, we have a strong advantage since we have capabilities in both beer and alcohol beverages as well as soft drinks.”
Asahi has outlined plans to increase the proportion of products with an ABV of 3.5% or less — a category which includes its Super Dry Dry Crystal beer — from 10% last year to 20% by 2030. The company has now said this share will be brought up to 50% by 2040. Read more here.
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