The Tokyo High Court on Monday upheld a 16-month prison term for Yohei Ogawa, a former chairman of Tombow Pencil Co. convicted of using stimulants.
The defense team for Ogawa, 61, had sought a suspended term, but presiding Judge Taketaka Nakagawa said his criminal responsibility "should not be understated" as he used stimulants while on probation following an earlier conviction.
Ogawa was sentenced in October 2007 to 30 months in prison, suspended for four years, for stimulant use before being arrested again in June for possessing stimulants.