This is really common in Australia - I've found the biggest giveaway of a fake-craft brand is that the alcohol content is generally 4.8% (which just happens to be the governments definition of a full-strength beer).
In the US, where I buy Japanese beers, all are either brewed in the US or Canada under license. If it's brewed in Canada, it's marked up as imported. I doubt it's any different in other countries or for other brands.