Description

Founded in 1957 in Nago, Okinawa during the American occupation of Okinawa, Orion began making beer in 1959. Orion struggled to compete with the other major Japanese breweries, but after changing from a German-style beer to an American-style beer, it gained the top share in the Okinawan market. Orion became the most widely consumed beer in Okinawa, and “the company’s popularity took off as the brew became a more American style beer”,^[5] but until 2002, it had a market that was limited to mostly Okinawa. Since 2002, Orion has worked together with Asahi Breweries to manufacture Asahi beers in Okinawa, in return for Asahi’s assistance in selling Orion beer outside of Okinawa.^[6]

Additional information