Yakult Honsha has confirmed personal information relating to around 40,000 individuals was leaked following “unauthorised access” to its website.
The Tokyo-listed company detected the intrusion on Monday (26 October). In a statement released today, the Japanese probiotic dairy group said its investigation showed customer details had been compromised.
“At this time, we have confirmed that personal information of approximately 40,000 individuals has been leaked,” Yakult said.
The breach affects customers who submitted enquiries via the website, registered members of its school lunch portal “Tanoshī Kyūshoku” (Enjoyable School Lunches), and media contacts.
Compromised information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, age groups, occupations and enquiry text.
For members of the school lunch portal, encrypted passwords and product preferences were also exposed. The full names of employees handling enquiries were also accessed.
Yakult said credit card and banking details are not stored on the site.
The group has submitted an initial report to Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission and contacted the police.
It warned consumers against suspicious communications, adding: “We will never ask you for your password, account number, or credit card number.”
The incident follows a December 2023 breach at subsidiary Yakult Australia, where employee files were leaked on the dark web.
Domestic peers have also faced recent security incidents, including frozen-food group Nichirei in July and drinks giant Asahi Group Holdings last September.
For the fiscal year ended 31 March, Yakult’s net sales fell 2.7% to Y486.43bn, operating profit dropped 18.4% to Y45.19bn, and profit attributable to owners of the parent declined 2.9% to Y44.23bn.
In the first quarter ended 30 June, net sales rose 3.3% to Y120.46bn, while operating profit fell 7.5% to Y10.09bn. Profit attributable to owners of the parent increased 17.2% to Y13.59bn.
For the full year ending 31 March 2027, Yakult forecasts net sales of Y527bn, operating profit of Y44bn, and profit attributable to owners of the parent of Y46.50bn.
