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The chief executive of global drinks group Suntory who abruptly resigned on Tuesday amid a police probe over alleged illegal substance use has publicly declared his innocence, but will step back from his duties as head of one of Japan’s most powerful business associations.
Takeshi Niinami, one of the most recognisable figures in the Japanese corporate world, denied any illegal activity on Wednesday but said he would suspend his duties as chair of the Keizai Doyukai association. He will continue to hold the title.
“I did not break the law, and I am innocent,” Niinami said in his first public remarks since details of the investigation came to light a day earlier. Police in late August searched Niinami’s apartment in one of Tokyo’s most exclusive residential towers but found no illegal substances, according to people familiar with the situation.
Suntory on Tuesday announced Niinami’s resignation without him present, saying it stemmed from his “lack of awareness” regarding supplements he had purchased.
Citing people close to Niinami, some Japanese media reported after Tuesday’s resignation that he had accused a faction within Suntory of staging a “coup” to oust him.
Asked about this on Wednesday, Niinami told reporters: “I never said that.”
Niinami, who led Suntory from 2014 and oversaw the integration of US whiskey maker Beam into the Japanese group, said he had purchased the supplements from an acquaintance in the US who had recommended them to help fight jet lag.
He asked to have the products mailed to him in Japan, but they never arrived, he said.
Niinami said he believed the recommended supplements contained cannabidiol, a cannabis extract that is legal in Japan provided there are no traces of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
According to two people familiar with the situation, police are investigating whether the supplements, which were never delivered to Niinami, contained traces of THC.
Suntory said its board met on August 28 without Niinami present and unanimously agreed that his departure was necessary, whatever the outcome of the investigation.
Niinami said on Wednesday he had offered his resignation to spare the company turmoil.