Japan’s Penny-Pinching Beer Drinkers Show Challenge to Abenomics

While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies help manufacturers such as Toyota Motor Corp. rack up record profit, challenges to his reforms are showing up in a more mundane spot: the outlook for beer.

Brewers in Japan face an April sales tax increase, stagnant wages and an aging population, the same challenges Abe’s monetary easing and stimulus spending must overcome to sustain a recovery.