Japanese whisky giant opens new base in Scottish city
The new office on West George Street "offers a city-centre space for the company's approximately 50 city-based corporate employees, in addition to the company's existing offices in Springburn".
Chris Richardson, of Suntory Global Spirits, said: "Suntory Global Spirits and our brands have a longstanding connection to Glasgow, and today we have teams from various global corporate functions as well as production and local teams working here.
"We are delighted to provide this new central Glasgow office space that enhances our presence in Scotland and provides our people with a facility where they can do their best work.
"This is a great example of how Suntory continues to invest in its people and ensure we are at the centre of the action in key cities around the world."
The news follows the launch of its new UK commercial business earlier this year, which saw the company become directly responsible for the UK marketing and distribution of its spirits portfolio in the UK.
The UK is also home to several of the company's brands, including Laphroaig, Bowmore, Auchentoshan, Teacher's, Glen Garioch, Ardmore and Ardray Scotch, and Sipsmith gin.
Headquartered in New York City, Suntory Global Spirits is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan.
Barrowland unveils 'ambitious' plans to alter famous facade
It has evolved from a dance hall into one of Scotland's most beloved concert venues.
Bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Manic Street Preachers, Mogwai and Idlewild all count the Barrowland Ballroom among their favourite places to play, for its superb acoustics, sprung dance floor and capacity crowds.
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The Herald Scotland
11-07-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Japanese whisky giant opens new base in Scottish city
Suntory Global Spirits now employs more than 550 people across the UK, including its distilleries and additional operations in Scotland and London, where it has also opened a new office. The new office on West George Street "offers a city-centre space for the company's approximately 50 city-based corporate employees, in addition to the company's existing offices in Springburn". Chris Richardson, of Suntory Global Spirits, said: "Suntory Global Spirits and our brands have a longstanding connection to Glasgow, and today we have teams from various global corporate functions as well as production and local teams working here. "We are delighted to provide this new central Glasgow office space that enhances our presence in Scotland and provides our people with a facility where they can do their best work. "This is a great example of how Suntory continues to invest in its people and ensure we are at the centre of the action in key cities around the world." The news follows the launch of its new UK commercial business earlier this year, which saw the company become directly responsible for the UK marketing and distribution of its spirits portfolio in the UK. The UK is also home to several of the company's brands, including Laphroaig, Bowmore, Auchentoshan, Teacher's, Glen Garioch, Ardmore and Ardray Scotch, and Sipsmith gin. Headquartered in New York City, Suntory Global Spirits is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan. Barrowland unveils 'ambitious' plans to alter famous facade It has evolved from a dance hall into one of Scotland's most beloved concert venues. Bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Manic Street Preachers, Mogwai and Idlewild all count the Barrowland Ballroom among their favourite places to play, for its superb acoustics, sprung dance floor and capacity crowds.
Reuters
10-07-2025
- Reuters
Breakingviews - Japan Inc's trade attack on Ishiba rings hollow
HONG KONG, July 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - It's a sure sign of corporate jitters when Japan Inc. starts to turn on the business-friendly Liberal Democratic Party. Takeshi Niinami, CEO of Suntory and chair of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, did exactly that on Tuesday when he told the Financial Times, opens new tab that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had made a 'mistake' in playing hardball with U.S. President Donald Trump on tariff negotiations. Niinami said Ishiba had squandered the legacy of the late Shinzo Abe — former prime minister and legendary Trump whisperer — by refusing to open the country's rice market to U.S. imports and demanding Washington scrap all its new tariffs on Japan, including a 25% levy on auto imports from the likes of Toyota Motor (7203.T), opens new tab. That may have cost Tokyo the chance to secure 10% base tariffs, he added. It's true the U.S. raised Japan's prospective tariffs one percentage point to 25% this week when it announced a delay in reciprocal levies until August 1. But South Korea faces the same level of levies, despite only starting proper trade negotiations about a month ago after a snap presidential election. And though Japan's maximalist position has not yet yielded results for its $4 trillion economy, it's hard to condemn given how little Trump has granted to those who do cave. The UK, for instance, agreed to a trade pact but ultimately failed to even partially reverse U.S. reciprocal tariffs of 10%. Niinami's call to end agricultural protections also ignores the political importance of Japan's farmers, who have long thrown in with Ishiba's LDP and whose support will be vital in the upper house elections on July 20. Rising rice prices — up 102% in May year-on-year, the biggest spike since records began in 1971 — are hitting household sentiment and, with government rice reserves running low, becoming a political conundrum. Yet the import seal on the crop is already broken: in April, Japan bought South Korean rice for the first time since 1999, per Bloomberg, opens new tab, and some restaurants have even switched to American strains. And while consumers prefer locally grown grains, rapid purchases of even stale government rice show cost concerns now prevail. If Ishiba wants to address domestic and foreign demands without sacrificing Japanese farmers, he can pitch a one-off imports deal with the White House. Conducting a massive one-time purchase of American rice without permanently opening up the market could lower prices and help get Trump back onside. And it will give the LDP some breathing room to remedy the agricultural policies which caused domestic shortages in the first place. Follow Hudson Lockett on Bluesky, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.
Glasgow Times
31-05-2025
- Glasgow Times
Japan ambassador tries Irn-Bru on visit to whisky distillery
His Excellency Hiroshi Suzuki – as he is styled – toured the Auchentoshan Distillery in Clydebank with First Minister John Swinney as the two discussed trade, including Scotland's national drink. But during his first visit to Scotland, he tried the nation's other national drink. Suzuki had tried Irn-Bru earlier during his visit but some Scots had urged him to taste the original 1901 recipe, which was phased out following the sugar tax. READ MORE: Man reunited with father's wartime documents found hidden in desk Handed a can by press, the Japanese ambassador said he was a big fan. 'It was fantastic,' he said. 'In my life, I have never had it before, but it was just, just great.' After taking a gulp of the older recipe Irn-Bru, he added: 'It is just great,' while giving it a thumbs up. The ambassador has become well-known online for trying different foods around the UK. A picture posted on Twitter/X of Suzuki trying a teacake gained more than 46,000 likes, while his video of eating haggis gained more than 800,000 views on the platform. Following a tour of the Auchentoshan Distillery, which is owned by the Japanese whisky firm Suntory, Suzuki said Japanese people loved Scottish whisky. He said Scotland was a 'very important' trading partner for Japan, adding: 'Japanese people love things like Scotch whisky, Scottish salmon, and recently, mackerel has been a great success. 'For the last couple of years, the export of mackerel from Scotland to Japan grew 10 times.' READ MORE: See inside the 2025 Scotland's Home of the Year finalists Suzuki said he 'hoped' trade between Scotland and Japan would continue to grow. The diplomat took part in a whisky tasting session with the First Minister, trying three drams. Swinney said that Auchentoshan Distillery was an 'excellent example' of the partnership between Scotland and Japan. He said: 'It's been my pleasure over the last couple of days to host a visit from the Japanese ambassador to Scotland. 'We've been using our time to cement links and connections between Scotland and Japan, and particularly yesterday, to engage with Japanese businesspeople who are investing in Scotland and who recognise Scotland as an attractive destination for investment, particularly in renewable energy, but also in life sciences, and as we see from our visit here today, in the whisky industry as well.'
