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Arrested Toyota exec didn’t need painkiller, medical checkup finds

Kyodo

An American executive at Toyota Motor Corp. who was arrested for importing painkillers that are banned in Japan without a prescription appears not to have any health condition requiring their use, an investigative source said Saturday.

A routine health checkup conducted after the arrest of managing officer Julie Hamp on Thursday to examine her health status prior to detention showed she did not have any particular problem, the source said.

The first female managing officer at the carmaker was arrested on suspicion of importing the pills in violation of the drug law, and the case was sent to prosecutors Friday. She has denied the allegation.

A total of 57 pills of oxycodone were placed in a package sent to her from an airport in Kentucky. The customs label on the package containing the pills declared the contents to be a necklace.

Oxycodone, categorized as a narcotic in Japan, is often used as a pain reliever by cancer patients and is said to be stronger than morphine. Overdosing on it can produce euphoric effects like heroin.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda declined to comment on her health condition at a hastily called news conference Friday, saying he believed she had not intended to break any law.

Toyoda also acknowledged the company may have failed to provide sufficient support for Hamp, its first foreign executive to be fully stationed in Japan.

“We apologize for causing alarm to the public,” Toyoda said. “We believe that the investigation will reveal that Ms. Julie Hamp did not have any intention of violating the law.”

He added, “She is an irreplaceable and cherished companion for me and for Toyota.”

The president said her arrest would not change the automaker’s policy of appointing the right person to the right job regardless of sex and nationality, in a bid to truly globalize the company.

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating who sent the pills to her and how she intended to use them.

Hamp, 55, a former General Motors and PepsiCo executive, joined Toyota Motor North America in 2012. She later became the first female managing officer of the parent company, a symbol of the auto giant’s new drive to diversify its management.

The day before her arrest, she attended a news conference introducing Didier Leroy, Toyota’s first non-Japanese executive vice president, at the automaker’s head office in Aichi Prefecture.

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  • Dan

    I think it`s worth pointing out that although oxycodone is classified as a narcotic, it is a legal substance in the US and Japan, but the problem is it can only be
    imported into Japan if it is carried by a person who has a legitimate
    prescription. So it if it was reported as Toyota exec arrested for trying to bring her medication that she didn`t have a prescription for, it might help her case a bit.

    • Yosemite_Steve

      Who says it’s legal in Japan? I have chronic pain and was prescribed norco (hydrocodone) in the US. I checked the Japanese language web site on drug imports and even called the Japanese customs office who issue import licenses for drugs. Their web site says and they confirmed on the phone that they would not issue an import license for opiates under any circumstances. It does not matter that they are prescribed, they cannot be imported into Japan. I’m sure this article is in fact wrong in that even with an Rx, you cannot legally import opiates, certainly not oxycodone.

      I had one Japanese doc who prescribed morphine only because I had been prescribed hydrocodone in the US and he could not prescribe that at all, but he would only prescribe very small amounts (like 5 doses/week or less). Usually only cancer patients can get any of that and I think most Japanese docs would not prescribe opiates even then. Post surgery patients in Japan are only given NSAIDs, not opiates. The strongest pain med I can get here is tramadol, which is a synthetic pain med, far weaker than codeine.

      It would actually be quite desirable to be able to get an Rx for opiate strength pain relief and bring a supply to Japan if you intend to reside here, even as a precautionary measure, because if you need surgery here you will not get very good pain relief afterwards (by US standards). However even with an Rx, (usually good enough for most medications), you cannot get permission to import narcotic drugs, per the agency web site and per the rep whom I spoke to about this.

      There is very high abuse of prescription narcotics in the US so one could argue that the Japanese are not totally unreasonable for banning altogether, other countries have similar policies. But I do argue that you are definitely NOT allowed to import oxycodone into Japan EVEN IF you have a US prescription. It’s completely banned and rx or not is not the basic issue (though it might very well effect how they punish you if you get caught breaking the law).

      • Dan

        I copied the thing about them being legal in Japan from the BBC website. The wife, a Japanese eye doctor, said in simple English for me that oxycodone is only `legal` in Japan if prescribed by a special doctor due to it`s strength and that she for example doesn`t have permission to prescribe that kind of pain killer.

        To be honest I agree with all of what you said, I`d just like to find a way to make it look better for the first foreign female executive at Totyota and rare would be role model for my daughter who clearly has a drug problem and needs help not persecution in country where she`s likely to get as much sympathy as a pack of bulldogs will offer a cat that has stollen their bone.

      • KR

        I think she’ll soon be on a plane back to the U.S.; her addiction will cause sympathy from the Japanese government. But her days as a senior Toyota exec are over, and she won’t be allowed back in Japan for a number of years.

      • Dan

        Just re-read this, Hamp has the drug problem, not my daughter – She`s only 4!

      • Yosemite_Steve

        Dan, shame on you for throwing your daughter under the bus like that when she’s only 4, LOL. You had me convinced she was a teen or 20 something with a monkey on her back. Luckily, small chance of her getting involved with drugs if you stay in Japan.

      • http://www.turning-japanese.info/ Eido INOUE

        Oxycodone is prescribed under the following trade names in Japan: オキシコンチン錠 and オキノーム散 by Shionogi Pharma, and パビナール by Takeda Pharma.

        Some of the above is pill form, some of it is injected form… some of it is intended to be used by hospitals (administered directly by nurses and doctors directly).

        It exists and is used in Japan… the trick is to getting a prescription for it is way harder than the U.S., which gives out drugs like candy.

      • Yosemite_Steve

        I stand corrected. I talked with docs here about hydrocodone and they told me it’s totally unavailable in Japan.

  • Guest

    Will the US prosecute her for breaking US drug export laws? That might influence how far Japanese prosecutors go in prosecuting her.

  • Jamie Bakeridge

    She clearly knew what she was doing. Anything less than a prison term will be a farce.

    • http://www.turning-japanese.info/ Eido INOUE

      That’s a little harsh, as the amount suggests personal use, not intent to sell or distribute.

      Deportation and banning from reentering the country, with no reentry for at least 5 years, is probably a fairer punishment and I suspect that’s what she will get: not a day in Japanese court or jail.

      Either way, her career at Toyota is toast, so she may as well leave Japan even if she gets completely off. Toyota, battling perceptions about its image, can’t use her as the face of Toyota trustworthiness anymore.

      • KR

        I believe she is sitting in a Japanese jail right now, correct?

      • Guest

        The Japanese government is probably a little more sensitive after being bullied by the US over the Carrie Russell smuggling case. South Korea is probably embarrassed that they didn’t catch the Adderall hidden in Tylenol bottles but Japan did.

        If she is deported and banned from Japan, she will likely be denied entry to many other countries, further hindering her ability to function in a role that involves international travel.

  • Liars N. Fools

    Looks more and more like she intentionally violated the law. If she had a prescription for these she could have carried in, especially for an extremely small amount.

  • KR

    The one good thing that might come out of this is that her time spent in a Japanese jail may help her break her oxycodone addiction. If Akio Toyoda really cares about her as he would his child, then he shouldn’t be in denial about whether she intended to violate Japanese law. Instead, he should be trying to get her the help she needs to overcome her addiction. It sounds like Toyoda cares more about his company than his employees. Maybe he needs a good PR person. Oh, wait…

  • Joe Kurosu, M.D.

    Oxycodone is an approved medication in Japan and is available in several forms, including Oxycontin (Shionogi Pharm.). Strictly speaking, it is only approved for use in “moderate to severe” pain due to cancer. The prescribing physician must have a “narcotic prescriber’s license”(renewable every 2 years) and the dispensing pharmacy must also be registered to be able to dispense narcotics. Most private practice physicians probably do not have such licenses, perhaps as they do not feel the need to prescribe narcotics, or do not want to deal with the hassles of doing so (codeine, for some reason, can be prescribed without a narcotics license).
    If the proper paperwork is filed and approved at least two weeks prior to arrival, one can supposedly bring in a supply of such medications for personal use, but it must, of course, be declared upon entry and be in the person’s possession. I suspect (no evidence) that the customs agent has some discretion over the final decision. Even if you have approval, it cannot be sent via mail or courier.
    If she was a regular user of this medication, I hope she is getting the proper care to prevent any withdrawal and manage any pain that she may be having….

    • Yosemite_Steve

      I’ve been told by a number of Japanese doctors, every one I’ve asked, including guys exclusively running pain clinics, and a doc that in the end did prescribe some morphine, that neither hydrocodone nor any other codeine formula cannot be subscribed at all.

      • Joe Kurosu, M.D.

        Hydrocodone is not approved in Japan, so it is not available for prescription. Oxycodone is, and can be prescribed, but only for pain related to cancer. It is not approved for use in other chronic or acute pain conditions, so will generally not be prescribed for those conditions.
        Of course, “can be prescribed” does not mean “will be prescribed”…

  • 151E

    I’m surprised there are no posts questioning the right of the state to arbitrarily restrict and criminalize what adults choose to ingest.

  • Eikaiwa teacher and SJW

    More oppression of Americans by corporate Japan. I shall be in the Roppongi hub from 5pm if anyone wishes to link arms and join me in a chorus of “We shall overcome” as I start a vigil for our fallen sister.

    • viva_il_bomba

      Let me understand: if a Japanese executive was arrested in the U.S. because he/she violated U.S. law then that would be “more oppression of Japanese by corporate U.S.” rather than U.S. enforcing its own laws, is that so ?

      • Sam Gilman

        I believe the previous poster was being satirical.

      • viva_il_bomba

        Didn’t realize it could be satirical. Well .. if that’s the case I think I’m going to join him/her in Roppongi Hills today ;-)

  • Pedro

    Has anyone looked at the causal relationship of working for Toyota (and Toyoda) and drug addiction?

    I too worked directly for both, am American, and nearly became suicidal!

  • wanderingpippin

    Interesting. We often see non-Japanese complaining that in Japan it seems one is considered guilty upon arrest. Yet in this case we have posters who seem to already know for sure that not only is Hamp guilty, but that she is a drug addict as well. If she is indeed guilty of flaunting the law I’ll be the first to say she sould receive whatever punishment the Japanese system sees fit to hand out. But at this point do we really know enough? Is there not a possibility that someone sent the package to her without her knowledge?