CEO of Japanese beverage giant Suntory quits over drug probe
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami was put under police investigation following the arrest of a man in an illegal drug case in July.
PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO - One of Japan’s best-known business people has resigned as chief executive of beverage giant Suntory after police raided his house in an illegal drugs probe, the company and media said on Sept 2.
Mr Takeshi Niinami, 66, was put under police investigation regarding “supplements he purchased under the belief that they were legal,” Suntory president Nobuhiro Torii told a news conference.
Police searched Mr Niinami’s house in August, but he has denied involvement, and no illegal drugs have been found, according to Jiji Press and other media.
The firm on Sept 1 accepted Mr Niinami’s “request to resign for personal reasons”, following discussions after he returned to Japan, Mr Torii said.
The authorities will determine whether the supplements are illegal, Mr Torii said, without giving further details.
But he said Suntory concluded that Mr Niinami’s actions “inevitably fall short of the qualities required” of CEO.
Citing unnamed investigators, broadcaster Nippon TV said Mr Niinami was suspected of importing products containing THC, an active ingredient in cannabis, from the US.
Suntory president Nobuhiro Torii (left) and executive vice-president Kenji Yamada apologising at a press conference in Tokyo on Sept 2.
PHOTO: REUTERS
During the search Niinami reportedly told police that “a female acquaintance sent it to him unsolicited”.
Mr Niinami, who was also the head of the country’s business lobby, joined Suntory Holdings in 2014, after serving as CEO of convenience store chain Lawson.
Suntory is known for its world-famous whisky and its brands include Jim Beam bourbon, Laphroaig whisky and Courvoisier cognac. In 2014, it acquired the US maker of Jim Beam for US$16 billion (S$20.6 billion) to become one of the world’s biggest spirits makers.
Mr Niinami is known as a vocal business leader. He openly criticised Japan’s former biggest boyband agency following revelations about decades of sex abuse
Japan has strict drug laws and possession can result in jail time.
In 2024, the German-born former chief executive
In 2017, a German executive at Volkswagen’s Tokyo office was arrested on suspicion of drug use. AFP
