Star Metro - Suntory CEO quits over Japan drugs probe

Takeshi Niinami, 66, was put under police investigation following the arrest of a man in an illegal drug case in July, according to Jiji news agency.

Police searched Niinami's house in August, but he has denied involvement, and no illegal drugs have been found.

"An investigation was conducted into supplements he purchased under the belief that they were legal," Suntory president Nobuhiro Torii told a news conference on Tuesday.

Citing unnamed investigators, broadcaster Nippon TV said Niinami was suspected of importing products containing THC, an active ingredient in cannabis, from the United States.

During the search Niinami reportedly told police that he thought it was a legal product and that "a female acquaintance sent it to him unsolicited".

Niinami, who also serves as 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 the company's brands include Jim Beam bourbon, Laphroaig whisky and Courvoisier cognac.

In 2014 it acquired the US maker of Jim Beam for $16 billion to become one of the world's biggest spirits makers.

Niinami is known as a vocal business leader.

He openly criticised Japan's former biggest boyband agency following revelations about decades of sex abuse by its late founder in 2023.

Japan has strict drug laws and possession can result in jail time.

In 2024, the German-born former CEO of optical equipment firm Olympus was found guilty of a drug charge.

In 2017, a German executive working at Volkswagen's Tokyo office was arrested on suspicion of drug use.

F.Leblanc--SMC