CEO Franc de Suntory resigns after a police drug search

“The whole company will work together to regain confidence,” said Sunntory president Nobuhiro Torii at a hurry -arranged press conference to announce the resignation. Torii refused to comment on the legality of what he described as supplements found in the home of the former CEO, citing the current investigation. Ninaimi did not attend the briefing.

Police investigated Niinami, 66, suspected of strict cannabis laws in the country, the Tokyo Shimbun reported on Tuesday. Ninaimi denied allegations, he said. He has not yet made public statements on the issue.

Niinami, who defended the reforms and spoke to business leaders looking for a more international and competitive business sector in Japan, decided to resign after having decided that his lack of knowledge on the supplements disqualified him to direct the company, according to the press release.

The actions of the Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. unit. reported on reports following the resignation reports of Niinami, and increased by 2% near the end of the negotiation in Tokyo on Tuesday. The stock is down more than 6% this year.

“The determination of any legal violation should be left to the authorities,” said Torii. “We have determined that this conduct reflects a lack of adequacy for the role of the representative director.”

As president of the second largest company in Japan, Japan Lobby Association of Business Managers, known as Keizai Doyukai, Niinami was a frank and influential voice in business circles. For more than a decade, he had pushed to globalize Sunntory while the Japanese drinks giant faces slower domestic consumption and increased competition abroad.

The frequent appearances of Niinami in the Japanese and international media have made him a very visible and often controversial presence in a trade environment known to be slow to change and risk risks.

In July, Niinami called for the Japanese central bank to increase interest rates, warning that the fact of not doing so was to maintain the low yen, and in turn fueled food and other import prices. “It will be the responsibility of the governor,” he said, an unusually frank remark for Kazuo Ueda, the Governor of the Central Bank who began to tighten rates last year after 17 years of ultra -oyal monetary policy.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, the products are legal in Japan as long as they are completely free from THC, the psychoactive chemical found in cannabis. Everything that contained THC above an extremely low threshold is classified as narcotics, and the possession or transfer of CBD products containing THC is liable to seven years in prison.

Japanese drugs on drugs have already trapped other business leaders.

Last October, the manufacturer of Japanese medical devices Olympus Corp. pushed the former CEO Stefan Kaufmann after investigating an allegation he bought illegal drugs. The exit of the German native amazed the market, and he was then found guilty of receiving illegal drugs.

In 2015, Julie Hamp, then advisor with the Toyota Motor Corp. media, resigned after her arrest for the importation of pain relievers in Japan without approval. However, she was released after the prosecutors brought no charge against her and Hamp joined the company in 2022.

In December, Suntory replaced Niinami by promoting Torii as president, in a decision that saw the reins of the Japanese whiskey manufacturer rendered to the founding family. Niinami remained as CEO and President.

Suntory had hired the Ninami educated at Harvard in 2014, making him the first executive outside the founding family. He directed the integration of the company with Beam Inc., which she bought for $ 16 billion. Before joining Suntory, Niinami managed the Japanese channel of Japanese convenience store Lawson Inc. for 12 years.

“The supplements purchased were not company products,” Suntory said in the press release.