Ex-Toyota Exec Escapes Indictment, Released over Oxycodone Import

Tokyo, July 8 (Jiji Press)--Japanese public prosecutors on Wednesday released former Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> Managing Officer Julie Hamp, who was arrested in June for importing oxycodone, designated as a narcotic drug under Japan's drug control law. The release came after the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict Hamp, 55, judging that her action was not malicious because she intended to use the drug to reduce knee pain and not for recreational purposes. Hamp, who took up the post of managing officer in April to become the first female executive at the leading Japanese automaker, was arrested by Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department on June 18 on suspicion of illegally importing 57 tablets containing oxycodone in an international parcel from the United States earlier that month. She had been detained at a Tokyo police station since then. During questioning, Hamp denied the allegations against her, saying that she knows oxycodone is a restricted drug but does not recognize that it is a narcotic, according to investigation sources. She told the investigators that she asked her father in the United States to send the tablets, which were prescribed to him, to use as painkillers, the sources said. Her father submitted a written testimony confirming his daughter's claim to the Japanese authorities. The prosecutors decided not to indict Hamp also because they believe that she was socially punished following her resignation from her post of Toyota on June 30. In a statement published after the release of Hamp, Toyota reiterated its apology for causing confusion and concern over the recent events surrounding her. "We intend to learn from this incident by reinforcing our guiding principles of honoring the language and spirit of the law," it said. END