Can you take beer on a plane?

On a domestic flight the 100ml liquid limit does not apply. On an international flight it does.

Domestic flights in Japan

The 100ml liquid limit does not apply.

International flights from Japan

Each container 100ml or less, all of them inside one transparent re-sealable bag of 1 litre or less, one bag per person.

Liquor bought at the duty-free shops after departure procedures can be carried on board an international flight regardless of the 100ml limit. Narita Airport's FAQ answers the canned beer question directly: not in carry-on baggage on an international flight, yes in a checked suitcase.

Beer sits in the weakest alcohol band on every list, so the container and the route decide more than the drink does.

Lists that name beer

Most lists speak of alcoholic beverages and leave beer unnamed. Australia's CASA is an exception: its entry is titled alcoholic beverages of not more than 24% alcohol by volume and gives beer, wine and champagne as examples. South Korea's aviation security list has a row headed Beer, and on domestic flights it lets drinks of 24% or less into the cabin and checked baggage without a quantity limit.

Glass bottles: what ANA and Skymark ask

ANA's FAQ for domestic flights sets no limit for drinks of 24% alcohol or less and adds a request about glass: bottled liquor and drinks break easily, so carry them into the cabin. Skymark's FAQ makes the same request for bottles and says the answer is yes as long as the drink is in the container it was sold in.

Opening your own can on board

Carrying beer into the cabin and drinking it there are separate matters. Skymark's FAQ on food and drink says alcoholic drinks may be brought on board, but drinking in the cabin may be restricted depending on the situation. For flights in the United States the TSA cites FAA regulations that prohibit travelers from consuming alcohol on board an aircraft unless served by a flight attendant.

Non-alcoholic beer is filed as a soft drink

The Japanese edition of Japan's liquids list names non-alcoholic beer in its soft drinks row, between ginger ale and soda. With no alcohol band to place it in, it is screened as an ordinary drink: on an international flight a can passes the checkpoint only when the container holds 100 ml or less and sits in the clear bag.

Bringing it into Japan: the allowance is counted in bottles

Japan Customs gives one duty-free allowance for alcoholic beverages of every kind: 3 bottles for an adult, with a bottle counted as 760 ml. Beer has no allowance of its own and shares that figure with wine and spirits. Persons under 20 years old are not granted the allowance for alcoholic beverages.

Beer is not allowed in carry-on in Mainland China.

Each row comes from that authority's own page. Airlines can be stricter, and the screening officer has the final say.

What to do

Move beer to the bag you check in before you reach security. Narita Airport states that anything given up at the checkpoint is discarded and cannot be returned.