TOKYO—Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda on Friday
extended his support to a senior executive arrested on suspicion of
violating Japan's tough drug laws, but stopped short of
guaranteeing that she would keep her job.
Mr. Toyoda, moving quickly to try to contain the fallout from
the arrest of Julie Hamp, Toyota's head of corporate
communications, described her as a "close friend of mine and an
invaluable member of Toyota's team."
Ms. Hamp, an American who is the most senior female executive at
the company, is in police custody after she was arrested Thursday
at the Tokyo hotel where she was staying. The police say customs
officers intercepted a package addressed to Ms. Hamp containing
about 60 tablets of oxycodone, a powerful painkiller.
Though oxycodone is legal with a prescription in Japan and the
U.S., it is illegal to bring it into Japan without special
authorization. Oxycodone, an opiate, is also widely used illegally
as a recreational drug in the U.S.
Toyota, at a hastily scheduled news conference, declined to say
whether Ms. Hamp had a prescription for oxycodone or a medical
condition that would require its use. Executives said the company
was cooperating fully with the authorities, but added that privacy
issues prevented him from discussing particulars of the case.
When asked whether Ms. Hamp, if cleared of wrongdoing, would
keep her job, Mr. Toyoda said, "I believe that future
investigations will show that she had no intention to violate the
law."
Ms. Hamp, who hasn't been charged with any crime, hasn't
commented publicly since her arrest.
Along with Didier Leroy, a Frenchman who was named as an
executive vice president, Ms. Hamp is one of two foreigners
appointed to senior roles this year at Toyota, which is trying to
diversify its largely male and Japanese executive ranks.
Mr. Toyoda said the arrest wouldn't stop the company's diversity
push. Indeed, he said the company would redouble its efforts to
make foreign employees feel welcome in Japan.
"Maybe we didn't have enough support to prepare her for her stay
in Japan," Mr. Toyoda said, describing company executives as being
"like my children."
Mr. Toyoda's decision to speak out on the case even as the
investigation is still unfolding highlights his application of
lessons learned through a series of missteps six years ago, when
complaints of unintended acceleration in some Toyota cars began to
emerge. At the time, Mr. Toyoda, still new to his post, was
criticized as being too slow to react.
The complaints ultimately led to recalls of more than 10 million
Toyota cars in the U.S., a congressional probe, a class-action
lawsuit and a criminal investigation that the company paid $1.2
billion to settle.
Write to Eric Pfanner at eric.pfanner@wsj.com and Yoko Kubota at
yoko.kubota@wsj.com
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