Overview

• Niinami, 66, offered to step down on September 1 after telling colleagues on August 22 that he was under investigation, and the board accepted his resignation effective immediately.
• Fukuoka Prefectural Police searched his Tokyo residence in August over products investigators suspect may have contained THC potentially sourced from overseas, with no illegal drugs found and no charges announced.
• Suntory said the items were personal and not company products, and media reports said a THC urine test for Niinami was negative.
• President Nobuhiro Torii and Vice President Kenji Yamada said his conduct showed insufficient caution for a top executive and that the decision would stand regardless of the investigation’s outcome.
• Japan strictly bans possession, import and sale of THC with penalties of up to seven years in prison, reinforcing stringent compliance expectations for corporate leaders.