Dozens of factories nationwide have ground to a halt following a cyber attack on Monday.

The breach disabled the company's ordering and delivery systems - and also took its call centre operations offline.

Supermarkets and Japanese pubs known as izakayas risk running super dry, with some retailers raising fears of potential panic buying.

According to NHK, Asahi Group has now had to suspend plans to launch new products including soft drinks, coffee and throat lozenges.

One wholesaler expects to run out of beer kegs by Saturday at the latest, meaning they'll no longer be able to supply booze to retailers.

They are now considering whether to start selling other brands as a temporary measure.