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Yakult Honsha Confirms Leak of About 40,000 Personal Records After Unauthorized Access to Official Website

SecurityOctober 30, 20261 min read

Yakult Honsha, the Japanese drink company, says hackers broke into its website. About 40,000 people's personal information may have leaked from its contact forms.

What happened

Yakult Honsha said on October 30, 2026 that an outsider got into its website without permission. Personal data from about 40,000 cases leaked from the contact forms and other parts of the site. The company said it would share more details, such as the exact number of cases and the time period, later. On October 26 it turned off parts of the website to stop more damage. It posted a notice about the break-in at 7 p.m. that day.

Key facts

About 40,000 cases of personal information leaked.
Leaked data includes names, gender, age group, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and the content of inquiries.
Members of the school-lunch info site 'Tanoshii Kyushoku' also had data leaked, including encrypted login passwords.
Credit card and bank account details were not leaked, because Yakult does not keep them.
The website was still under maintenance on October 30, and no restart date was given.

Why it matters

Names, phone numbers, and email addresses can be used for scam messages and fake calls. People who sent inquiries may need to watch for suspicious contacts. The leak also shows how easily a company's public website can be attacked. Yakult reported the break-in to the Personal Information Protection Commission and talked to the police.

What to watch

The exact number of affected people and the time period of the leak.
When the Yakult website will open again.
What the Personal Information Protection Commission and the police find.
Whether Yakult contacts affected customers directly.

Glossary

Yakult Honsha: A Japanese company that makes and sells probiotic milk drinks and other health products.
Personal Information Protection Commission: A Japanese government group that checks how companies protect people's personal data.
Tanoshii Kyushoku: A member site from Yakult that gives school-lunch information to people who sign up.

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