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Toyota Apologizes for PR Exec’s Drug Arrest
Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda has apologized on behalf of the company's new communications chief, who was arrested this week on charges of illegally bringing narcotic pain killers into Japan.
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Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda has apologized on behalf of the company's new communications chief, who was arrested this week on charges of illegally bringing narcotic pain killers into Japan.
Toyoda backs Julie Hamp's claim that she didn't knowingly break the law. Hamp, a former PR executive at General Motors and PepsiCo, became Toyota's highest-ranking woman when she joined the company in April.
Media reports say customs agents found 57 oxycodone pills in a jewelry box labeled "necklaces" and mailed from the U.S. to Hamp's hotel in Japan. The reports say the pills were mixed with necklaces and toy pendants.
Oxycodone is a prescription drug used to moderate severe long-term pain. Japanese law says it may be brought into the country only after obtaining government approval, and it must be carried by the individual for which it was prescribed.
One legal expert tells Reuters that, because of the large number of pills found, Hamp could face years in prison, followed by deportation.
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