Former Suntory Holdings Ltd Chairman Takeshi Niinami saw his case referred to prosecutors without arrest on Thursday along with a female acquaintance for allegedly importing illegal supplements, investigative sources said.
With Niinami denying the allegation that he imported supplements containing a prohibited level of a cannabis-derived substance from the United States, the prosecutors are expected to carefully examine whether to pursue criminal charges.
Last September, Niinami resigned as chairman of Suntory Holdings and as a chief of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, a major business lobby known as Keizai Doyukai.
At a press conference held the same month before his resignation from Keizai Doyukai, Niinami said, “I have not broken any laws and am innocent,” adding, “I have not possessed or used (the supplements) in Japan, and I did not instruct their imports.”
The cannabis-derived substance in the supplements was tetrahydrocannabinol, better known as THC, according to the sources.
The woman sent the supplements from the United States to her brother living in Fukuoka Prefecture and the local police arrested him on suspicion of violating the special narcotics law, with a source quoting him as saying, “I was asked to send them to Niinami.”
The Fukuoka prefectural police searched Niinami’s house in Tokyo in August last year based on information provided by customs authorities in southwestern Japan but found no illegal drugs. Niinami also tested negative in a urine test.
© KYODO
