Toyota executive Julie Hamp resigned on Tuesday in the wake of her oxycodone drug arrest in Japan, after a mere 90 days on the job.
Hamp, 55, an American who was Toyota’s most senior female executive as the company’s head of public relations, was arrested on June 18 for importation of the narcotic pain killer that is tightly regulated in Japan, although it is legal with a prescription in the U.S.,
according to The Associated Press.
Foreigners have sometimes been detained or arrested in Japan for importing medicines from their home countries that Japan requires special approval for or bans altogether.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said he regrets the company didn't help Hamp more in settling into her job in Japan and growing accustomed to official procedures and requirements, said the AP. Toyoda said he believes Hamp unintentionally broke the Japanese law with no ill intent.
In a
statement released on Wednesday, Toyota said it was accepting Hamp’s resignation due to stakeholders' concerns during the investigation into Hamp’s possession of the drugs.
Toyota also said “we intend to learn from this incident to help ensure a secure working environment for everyone at Toyota around the world as we continue to take the steps necessary to become a truly global company. We remain firmly committed to putting the right people in the right places, regardless of nationality, gender, age and other factors.”
Hamp became the first Western woman to be appointed as a senior executive at Toyota,
according to CNN Money, and her resignation threatens to throw a wrench in the company’s global goals for diversification.
“I hired and promoted Mrs. Hamp as officer regardless of the gender or nationality because we wanted to choose the person who was most suitable for the position,” Toyoda said,
according to Bloomberg. “We would like to become truly globalized, and it was a valuable first step forward. She took action to respond to that. I appreciated her for that action.”
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