Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami resigns over supplement investigation
Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami has resigned following a police investigation into his purchase of a supplement that may have violated Japan’s strict drug laws. Niinami, a prominent business leader and adviser to multiple Japanese prime ministers, told Suntory he believed the supplement was legal.
“I was not aware that it was an illegal supplement. I am innocent,” Niinami told the Asahi newspaper. He added that he resigned to help the company remain united, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Suntory president Nobuhiro Torii, a descendant of the company’s founder, said Niinami had been “a bold, decisive leader” and expressed regret that the leadership team could not continue together.
Reports indicate the supplements may have contained THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, which is illegal in Japan, though CBD products remain legal. Niinami will continue as chairman of the influential Keizai Doyukai business lobby and is scheduled to address the matter in a press conference Wednesday.
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