The sale of Anheuser-Busch to InBev (Belgium) is big news in the US, less so here in Japan. A little bit of nationalism comes into play of course. Many Americans liked the idea that the world's largest beer company was American, even though the watery taste of major US brands is not very popular in other parts of the world.
In graduate school, I remember a European friend of mine laughing for days after hearing a commercial on TV for a US beer. I forget which brand it was, but the ad campaign touted the fact that the beer had "no aftertaste". My friend kept saying "No aftertaste?? You drink beer FOR the aftertaste!!". I also wonder if this is somehow related to the way many Americans seem to drink to get drunk and not to slowly enjoy the taste of a good beer.
I have to say that I agree with the European approach. I like beers with a strong taste (and aftertaste) and therefore tend to choose bitter or stout beers.
I like the taste of Japanese beer, which does not differ all that much between the major manufacturers.
Occasionally there are ad campaigns for Budweiser using the Budweiser girls in their racy outfits and there are posters and cutouts of the same girls in some Tokyo bars, but the market penetration in Japan is very low for US brands.
InBev does not even have a website focused on Japan (English or Japanese). Becks and Stella Artois can be found, but even less frequently than Budweiser.
