"Heatwave Halts Even Ice Cream: Japan Faces Massive Food Emergency Amid Scorching Temperatures"

Nichirei System Failure Sends Shockwaves
Frozen Supply Chain for 5,000 Clients at Risk of Paralysis

Amid a heatwave of around 35 degrees Celsius sweeping across Japan, a system failure occurred at Nichirei, a leading Japanese frozen food and cold logistics conglomerate.

Amid a heatwave with temperatures around 35 degrees Celsius sweeping across Japan, systems failure occurred at Nichirei, Japan's leading frozen food and cold logistics conglomerate. Photo for reference. Getty Images

According to Kyodo News and other sources on the 16th, Nichirei announced that a system failure occurred on the 13th due to unauthorized external access. Nichirei is an industry-leading company mainly handling household frozen foods, ready-to-eat foods for supermarkets, and frozen food for restaurants. Due to this disruption, shipment work of frozen foods has been suspended. Additionally, there is a possibility that some personal information stored on servers may have leaked.

This system failure is affecting the entire local food supply chain. In particular, as this incident occurred in the midst of a midsummer heatwave, the damage to the Japanese distribution and food service industries, where maintaining freshness is of utmost importance, is spreading rapidly. Due to delays in delivering frozen foods and other products, some stores of major supermarket chain Aeon and discount store Don Quijote have experienced sell-outs. In addition, another well-known food company, Ezaki Glico, has faced disruptions in ice cream shipments in western Japan, and conveyor belt sushi chain Kura Sushi has experienced delays in sushi ingredient deliveries at some stores in the Kansai region. KFC Japan has also experienced delays in sourcing chicken and other ingredients, resulting in a complete suspension of its delivery service orders.

Pedestrians are crossing the street in a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News Agency

Nichirei’s subsidiary Nichirei Logistics Group undertakes cold logistics services on behalf of other companies at approximately 140 locations nationwide. The company has transactions with over 5,000 clients, so if the system failure is not promptly resolved, the entire local cold chain could be at risk of paralysis. Nichirei has announced that shipment work will gradually resume starting from the 17th. However, industry experts believe that since it is difficult to prioritize the distribution of numerous consigned products, it will take considerable time for the supply chain to return to full normalcy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.