Heineken N.V. (ENXTAM:HEIA) agreed to acquire remaining unknown minority interest in Heineken Kirin K.K. from Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (TSE:2503) on December 2, 2022. The Dutch brewing giant confirmed that, from the end of March, it will convert the joint venture, Heineken Kirin, into a wholly-owned subsidiary. The newunit will be called Heineken Japan.

Following the launch of the new venture, Heineken Japan will own the sales of the Heineken brand in the "mass-market" and off-premise, the spokesperson added. "Kirin Brewery will continue to maintain and strengthen its ability to make proposals in the on-trade and leverage Heineken's global-scale brand power while considering Heineken Japan's intention to focus on volume sales. Kirin Brewery and Heineken Japan will both take over the various functions previously performed by Heineken Kirin.