Toyota Motor Corp is in full-on damage control mode after its executive was arrested for breaking Japan’s law. Damage control began Friday after Julie Hamp, Toyota’s new communications chief, was arrested in Japan. Hamp has only been in this job position about two months. The arrest was made on the grounds that Hamp brought painkillers illegally into the country.
At a recent news conference, the president of Toyota offered an apology for the occurrence. President Akio Toyoda explained that the company believed Hamp unintentionally broke the law. He went on to say that the executives and staff are like family to him.
According to Japanese media reports, Hamp allegedly broke the law when police investigators found a package addressed to her that was sent from the US to Japan. Inside the parcel, which was labeled “necklaces,” were 57 Oxycodone pills, which were stashed underneath toy necklaces and pendants.
Hamp began as an executive with Toyota in April. She is formerly an exec for PepsiCo Inc. and General Motors Co. Her hiring by Toyota was part of an initiative to diversify the executive board of the company, which was dominated by Japanese males.
Oxycodone is an addictive drug that is available only with a prescription in both Japan and the US, as an official of the health ministry has confirmed. It is against the law in Japan to bring it into the country without obtaining approval first from the government. And, upon approval, it must be carried by the approved person. Hamp told police she did not believe she brought in an illegal substance, said a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson.
Given the large number of pills, Hamp is facing a serious criminal case. She could face prison and be deported too. If it were determined that she smuggled in drugs with intention to sell them, the maximum penalty would be imprisonment for life.