Police raid Toyota offices after arresting U.S. executive

Her knee pain ahem did not knead 57 pills. Liar! Many well paid professionals are pill poppers. Get help for her soon.

@Educator60:

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She was employed in USA and transferred to Japan.

What is Ms Hamp's visa status?

My prediction: She will get a suspended bust and be sent back to the United States. Oh, and she'll be forced to say "Moushiwake arimasen" and bow for 5 seconds. End of story.

SD will continue: "Her daddy did not realize sending the stuff - not being told of its content - over US Postal Service could constitute a Federal offense." An attempt to lessen the charges against her?

And now, the Head Spin Doctor says:

"Arrested U.S. Toyota exec asked father to mail painkiller to Japan

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- An American executive at Toyota Motor Corp. suspected of illegally importing a painkiller considered a narcotic in Japan has told police she asked her father to make the shipment, an investigative source said Thursday.

Tokyo police are considering sending officers to the United States to verify the statement by Julie Hamp, 55, and other aspects of their investigation."

Ummm. Not very original for a SD.

Let's get real. Ms. Hamp received her education at the Harvard Executive Development Program and is a very successful and highly intelligent executive. So I don't think so.

Addiction is indifferent to economic class, and successful people often hide it better than those who aren't. You said it yourself:

But quite often Intelligent people lack wisdom and they do dumb things. We also don't know whether she has an addiction problem either.

Exactly. So there is now way of knowing either way.

"She could have either not known about it or overlooked it and thought it wasn't a big deal. Both seem plausible and I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt since I wasn't there and can't read her mind."

This line of reasoning would be defeated with a simple Roman maxim legis: Ignorantia Legis neminem Excusat

The law is totally indifferent to your actual state of knowledge.

You can never get away with "I didn't know".

It suffices that a norm is, you don't need to know of its existence.

When it is within one's country, then it is only a name of the person but once it goes beyond one's boarder then it is the matter of Country's reputation.

Seems this women never thought about that.

Some worry that Hamp’s arrest will be seen as a sign of risks that come with promoting women, or foreigners, setting back women’s efforts to rise up the corporate ladder

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I USA ??? Many corporations in USA, women are already bosses. She was not employed in Japan. She was not a foreigner in USA. .

@Strangerland

Let's get real. Ms. Hamp received her education at the Harvard Executive Development Program and is a very successful and highly intelligent executive. So I don't think so. But quite often Intelligent people lack wisdom and they do dumb things. We also don't know whether she has an addiction problem either. That's pure speculation. Although it is possible but we really don't know.

Some worry that Hamp’s arrest will be seen as a sign of risks that come with promoting women, or foreigners, setting back women’s efforts to rise up the corporate ladder.

cevin7Jun. 24, 2015 - 01:49PM JST

This doesn't make sense. It's not appropriate to think that she broke the law because she's a woman or a foreigner. That's just ridiculous.

Cevin - smear 101. This is how sleaze journalism works. Of course it does not make sense. However, all that needs to be done is to insert a 'point' and suddenly it becomes part of the 'consideration'. You then have those arguing against it or for it or around it, because it is there.

The question here is how much of Oxy did she send?

Fifty something.

The question here is how much of Oxy did she send? Is it 5 pills? If it's clearly an amount for her personal use then it's over exaggerated. Japanese police don't even go after the Yakuza that probably smuggle and sell all kinds of other drugs. This poor woman is a scapegoat, and their message to other foreign execs is "Don't even think about bringing ANY drugs to Japan however small the quantity."

Well, any way you slice it, she's wedged herself tightly between a rock and a hard place.

Makes me sick to read comment judging her guilty without knowing all the facts.

Can a prescription drug or any other drug that is legal in the U.S. but illegal in Japan be obtained and used inside a U.S. Military Base in Japan?

Glass of sake twice daily may take pain away better then Oxidone and without worry of being arrested.

If Ms. Hamp did truly educate herself meaning actually read in detail completely the Narcotic and Psychotropics Control Law of Japan which is comparable to the U.S. Federal Controlled Substance Act she would have never considered mailing a package period. She would have known clearly that it was illegal to send that narcotic by mail. Therefore your statement is invalid.

How do you know she wouldn't have considered it? Everyone knows importation of drugs is illegal, and yet people still do it all the time all over the world - sometimes even when the known punishment is death. If she truly has an addiction problem, she may have chosen to take the risk, and got caught.

Himanjin@

If Ms. Hamp did truly educate herself meaning actually read in detail completely the Narcotic and Psychotropics Control Law of Japan which is comparable to the U.S. Federal Controlled Substance Act she would have never considered mailing a package period. She would have known clearly that it was illegal to send that narcotic by mail. Therefore your statement is invalid.

And Luca, no; the first rule of any Law School is for the need to detach oneself from emotions of any sort.

Love all the sympathy for this rule breaker, coming from people who would be salivating for a Japanese death, if this was a Japanese caught in Indonesia or Singapore.

I suppose you missed a few lectures...hmmm

Other than that, you are quite correct, she's guilty and will have to deal with consequences. But as a tax payer in Japan, i would rather not see my taxes wasted on locking her up. Rehabilitation or deportation? Sure.

@realistic: the article says such raids are quite after an arrest is made. No reason to think she is being treated differently for being a foreigner.

Good thing the police are wasting time on this dumb crap, when the only person being hurt is herself, if anyone. Mind boggling. Yes, we know it's illegal, and yes, it was dumb to try and import it. The law itself is also flawed. Drug addiction - if this is the issue - should be treated as the illness it is.

I think Tom may be knowing any data on below as his firm handling these kind of cases on daily basis?

Question is how many people's offices were raided who were arrested for possessing a drug/ restricted medicine? Or is this a special treatment for being a foreigner?

She certainly deserves a trial. I have read other articles that have made her seem more guilty. This is the first article that has made me question that. She was in the process of moving to japan, right? The article says the medication was hidden in a parcel labelled jewelry. But what if the medication was just kept in there at her home before moving to Japan. It is possible that someone would keep their strong medications away from family members by keeping in a jewelry box or something like that. She could have either not known about it or overlooked it and thought it wasn't a big deal. Both seem plausible and I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt since I wasn't there and can't read her mind. I would also like to think she is smarter than that. If she really wanted to smuggle illegal medication into Japan, I think she could have done it. A foreigner and a woman. I am sure she also has a lot of people rooting for her to fail.

Toyota offices should not be involved in this legal matter. Why is it that when a person in Japan gets in trouble with the law, their company has a lot of legal issues which do not make sense unless the individual used their company's resources to commit the crime like telephone, fax, couriers etc. Japan should just fine her and ship her back to the USA and get on with business as usual in Japanese with all of its briberies and business manipulations that go untouched by the local keystone kops.

Julie Hemp...I mean Hamp: Thanks for sending the women's movement back another generation.

Zichi,

I'm looking at it from the law in England and Wales perspective.

I stand corrected on the Japanese jurisprudence; however, concealing the drugs was/will be her undoing.

And Luca, no; the first rule of any Law School is for the need to detach oneself from emotions of any sort.

If I was representing the CPS I would make sure to "skin" her alive.

What sort of argument do you believe her brief can come up with to defend such stupidity?

@Tom

Sure, but that doesn't mean you can't indulge in a bit of fellow-human sympathy for her.

luca

1) I am a Solicitor, 2) My firm this with similar cases every day 3) She is guilty, and I'm not sure if this is of strict liability in Japan

Love all the sympathy for this rule breaker, coming from people who would be salivating for a Japanese death, if this was a Japanese caught in Indonesia or Singapore.

How do you know it would be the same people? Supporting evidence please.

Just hope that neither you or any of your loved ones ever have an accident and end up addicted to painkillers. It can be a pretty hellish existence....

It sounds like you're expecting empathy from JT posters. You wouldn't be expecting that would you Luca?!

@Tom

Just hope that neither you or any of your loved ones ever have an accident and end up addicted to painkillers. It can be a pretty hellish existence....

Love all the sympathy for this rule breaker, coming from people who would be salivating for a Japanese death, if this was a Japanese caught in Indonesia or Singapore.

There's no issue here.

She was caught trying to introduce an illegal drug into a country where this is not allowed.

Not even a "discovery" of an American prescription will save her now.

All such "a posteriori" discovery could do is work as a mitigating factor in sentencing.

She was caught red handed.

All she has to do is plead guilty at what is called plea before venue, or at first opportunity, and hope for a reduced sentence.

Other than that, all she has is read this site and read posts from people without a clue.

Some worry that Hamp’s arrest will be seen as a sign of risks that come with promoting women, or foreigners, setting back women’s efforts to rise up the corporate ladder.

This doesn't make sense. It's not appropriate to think that she broke the law because she's a woman or a foreigner. That's just ridiculous.

The Fuzz raid Toyota due to one employee sending themselves Oxycodone? Idiocy and a waste of manpower.

Why? Do the police seriously think Toyota is a drug dealing company? What is the point to the raid?

Its this woman's fault. I don't know if she may of had a prescription or not, but she was really stupid trying to mail a C2 medication to herself. I'm still trying to figure out how it even got out of the US in the package she put it in. If it was a legal prescription then she should have just claimed it and gotten the proper documentation that she could present during her travels.

A rather primitive trick to cheat custom and police inspectors. A huge impact to worldwide image of Toyota Corporation. Also a bright and clear example of western attitude to Japanese business. Top executive may shine by stylish American smile while being a plain drug dealer.

Exactly! Poor Toyota and their image! Some upstart woman has sullied the image of the wonderful Toyota company. This is very unfortunate and will be some time before Toyota recovers I'm sure. I feel so bad for the other male executives at Toyota here in Japan and their families. I am sure that all of them are completely law abiding and honest in business practices and treating all people fairly.

This woman has disgraced the honest and well respected image of "Japanese business"

Ah, the Japanese media love to roast any foreigner in their news. These raids were just another media attention grabbing ploy. Yeah, she broke the law and, no doubt, knew it was illegal to bring such pharmaceuticals into Japan, but please! Bringing in a few containers of prescription drugs is hardly worth all the media attention. I have a friend that works in the inspection area of customers and they find illegal prescription drugs every day. Give it a rest!

Mailing it to herself? Yeah right! GUILTY! If she was using it for legit reasons, someone in her position could have easily gotten written approval from a doctor.

Its pretty obvious that this woman is using this medecine as a drug, and 100% deserves what is happening. Toyota is making a mistake supporting her.

Must be nice to live in a glass house Fagui Curtain. Especially with nothng more to go on than what the police have conveniently leaked to the news media.

Stupid on many levels. Were she in Indonesia she would get a death penalty.

Do not hide it among personal belongings.

Well, hiding things among personal belonging is not a yet crime. Personally, having stamps and papers vs having not stamp and papers for the exact same act should not decide if you are criminal or not deserving hard time in jail, at most a warning to not do it again, now if she is drug dealer that is another story.

Ms. Hamp is lucky she was not caught by the State police, they would have stripped her and dug into all her body holes searching for more of the stuff, remember they did that to the Indian diplomat who was arrested not for drugs but for some other reason.

@Citizen2012 "people using drugs for themselves to relieve their pain specially if there is a prescription from a doctor"

No problem, show that prescription of American doctor and oxycodone to inspectors of Japanese custom with properly filled form. Do not hide it among personal belongings.

The police should rather crack down on installed criminal drug dealer than on people using drug for themselves to relieve their pain specially if there is a prescription from a doctor. The society will get nothing good for having this person jailed unless it is proved that she is a dealer trying to sell illegal drug in Japan.

"It is unclear what police were looking for in the raids, which are common after arrests."

And let me guess: 2,000 officers were mobilized.

The police really have nothing better to do than conduct a raid related to painkilling medicine?

I'm happy to see the Japanese authorities willingness to crack down on drug users. The last thing Japan needs is to add Western degeneracy on top of it's own native brand. You think pushy train otaku snapping photos are bad? Imagine pushy train otaku hyped up on painkillers!

Question is how many people's offices were raided who were arrested for possesing a drug/ restricted medicine? Or is this a special treatement for being a foreigner?

Another thought: She may have mailed to her company add. as she was stayin in hotel. That may lead raid in her offices?

Still confusing thought! Need to find some pain killer for headache! and should be careful about which are restricted! :P

A can of worms has now opened up because she made a senseless mistake of not educating herself on the narcotic laws of Japan.

I think she did educate herself, judging by the way she sent the pills.

＠Frungy

She may well be "guilty as sin" and "dishonest", but she's a drug addict. People like that deserve a bit of sympathy. They're ill, not bad.

Hamp is guilty as sin.

The drugs were hidden in a box labelled jewelry. She knew they wouldn't be allowed. She knew they were illegal in Japan. She tried to hide them.

These are not a box of tylenol, they're opiods, as in made from opium (or in this case a synthetic opium). These are major-line painkillers used for things like post-operative patients. They're highly addictive and if Hamp was importing large quantites it would suggest that she's an addict.

Whether she has a prescription in the U.S. is actually completely irrelevant. If she wanted to bring them in legally she could have filled in the correct paperwork and bought in a short-term supply. But its clear that wasn't going to be enough for an addict, so she wanted more. A LOT more.

As for raiding her Toyota offices, it is just logical. You have to check all the places she might stash stuff.

...and despite her being guilty as sin, completely dishonest and a drug adddict she'll probably just be deported back to the U.S. where her money will buy her a few weeks in a drug rehabilitation facility.

So many foreigners have medicines posted to themselves when they live here, why did they target her?

Who says they targeted her? It's just as likely that they happened to catch her. And if the other foreigners who are mailing themselves medication are mailing medicines that are illegal in Japan, they should count themselves lucky that they didn't get caught.

Some worry that Hamp’s arrest will be seen as a sign of risks that come with promoting women, or foreigners, setting back women’s efforts to rise up the corporate ladder.

So many foreigners have medicines posted to themselves when they live here, why did they target her? Would only take one disgruntled co-worker or board member to tip off police to search her stuff coming in (and yes it is common to mail boxes and boxes of stuff to yourself when emigrating)

It's possible that the police are using Hamp's arrest as a convenient pretext for other ongoing investigations. Either that, or they are searching for her stash.

Search without evidence that there will be something to find is irresponsible. But seeing as they did search, i wonder if it was just her desk/office, or a general search throughout Toyota altogether.

It seems that she would be convicted of narcotic in the court whether she has prescription of oxycodone in America or at her desk of Toyota company, because the drug is clear illegal if imported personally by mail/package. She would eat stinking food at women's prison for a few months and leave Japan.

Warrants should only be issued when police know what they are looking for.

It would be remiss of police if they don't search Toyota to see if the company is involved

the biggest question is why she just didn't bring it in herself? why the heck mail it when the chances of her getting searched at customs was miniscule. shows that you don't need to have a lot of brains to succeed in life.

on a Japanese TV news report, they interviewed 3 youngsters from NYC who acknowledged taking those same pills as a recreational drug. Just finished the book Wolf of Wall Street where JB tells about his addiction to "Quaaludes" a very strong pain reliever.

Its pretty obvious that this woman is using this medecine as a drug, and 100% deserves what is happening. Toyota is making a mistake supporting her.

Not going to defend this stupidity, but I can well imagine somebody packing a bottle of medication in such a way that the pills wouldn't rattle around. Then again, if and when the presence of such "concealed" items was discovered, explaining away the matter would be difficult to say the least.

Regarding the comment about Toyota being a "sacred cow", the police taking the plunge in pursuing this just goes to show how serious they are in making an example in this case, the actual facts be damned. Then again, Toyota have probably already done half of the PR for the fuzz by putting this woman on a pedestal as an example of diversification. It wouldn't be the first time that the forces of law and order have swooped into arrest somebody famous after they had been lauded by the press. Although slightly different contexts, long-term residents like myself can remember a number of cases where people have been dragged away in handcuffs (in front of the media) after the media had idolized them. Indeed, perhaps what is unusual about this case is that it is being downplayed by the media at the moment. This probably has more to do with Toyota's allocation of advertising budgets more than anything else.

@Crazyjoe; Would help if police found a prescription for the drug

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Probably Japanese authority inquired her doctor abou information of her illness and prescription and may be waiting. It take longer because there is so called "Doctor Patience confidentiality" laws in USA. They can not release one;s health data to law enforcement officials in USA. Kind of hard to get info as she is in Japan to give permission easily.

I thought Americans who work with Japanese companies know in Japan, Guilty untile proven innocent in Japan but not everybody knows this or so I guess..

Even the most soccer mom looking woman can be addicted to drugs.

A can of worms has now opened up because she made a senseless mistake of not educating herself on the narcotic laws of Japan. She must be haunted by this case and what a waste of precious time for the executive. However the ignorance of the law concerning this matter is no excuse. This is turning out to be a difficult and probably a expensive legal case. I hope this chapter of her life ends soon so she can move forward and take care of more positive business.

This stuff is highly addictive and the withdrawal symptoms are absolute hell. She must be going through a lot in detention and has another two weeks to go before they charge her. I would not blame her for moving back to USA after all this. Not even Caroline Kennedy can get her out of the clutches of the Japanese police and their cruel tactics.

Pathetic, just trying to get some publicity out of it. Milk it boys Milk it.

Who? Toyota? You think they either welcome or need this kind of publicity?

It is unclear what police were looking for in the raids, which are common after arrests

That's because they don't know what thay are looking for....just fishing and seeing what turns up. Warrants should only be issued when police know what they are looking for. Otherwise it should be deemed an illegal search. That's the way it works in the UK anyhoo. J-cops seem to be a law upon themselves. .

On the bright side,if there is one isthat she didn't get bagged in Indonesia.

Would help if police found a prescription for the drug.

No thing will happen to her , her Embassy is so powerful.

It seems that the Embassy is nothing to do with her personal business. If she did it deliberately, she would be just convicted in the court of Japan. Embassy can do nothing about her.

If that medicine was prescribed, she should have went through the legal means to mail it or simply gone here in Japan regarding her issues. The healthcare in Japan is decent. I'm sure she had health insurance from work. There's no good reason why she should have done this.

Perhaps she and Toyota aren't "fully cooperating" or acknowledging total guilt. I don't really get how several HQs of a huge corporation would get raided for one person using prescription pills illegally.

Japanese cops take "probable cause" too far. Toyoda should cut Hamp loose. Mailing drugs to herself, concealing it the way she did, she knew full well what she was doing. Either way it shows poor judgement on her part.

What are they going to do during the olympics when tons of foreigners come here and bring their perfectly legal at home prescriptions with them? J-gov really needs to address this before 2020.

Police say the drugs were in a parcel Hamp mailed to herself. Japanese media reports said the drugs were hidden in a package containing jewelry.

A rather primitive trick to cheat custom and police inspectors. A huge impact to worldwide image of Toyota Corporation. Also a bright and clear example of western attitude to Japanese business. Top executive may shine by stylish American smile while being a plain drug dealer.

It should not affect anything, a lot of people rely on that medication to help with pain. She probably relied on it for years before moving here, and was scrambling to figure out a solution in Japan. She got caught, I think what is happening is more than enough, it shouldn't affect anyone's reputation if it is being used for what it is prescribed for.

No thing will happen to her , her Embassy is so powerful.

The illegal act remain on a personal level. Why would it have to do with heer company? She is treated guilty as hell and considered criminal for 57 pills for herself! She deserves a law reminder and fine of course but that is it. Politics croonies are stealing money by bribing all over the place at a national level and nothing happens. List could continue on many topics: harassment, slavery over non full time employee, overtime work excess, etc Japan makes no difference between individual level and social level. No to drug but when it is for self consumption, it is called medecine pills! Who are tou to judge someone's pain ? (And in particular who can think she is going to become drug dealers ?)

Pathetic, just trying to get some publicity out of it. Milk it boys Milk it.

Now she'll need a little something to dull a real headache.

I never thought I would see the day. Toyota have always been the sacred cow. The police must have calculated that a raid on Toyota would be a PR coup. I mean, it seems to a slam-dunk case. She mailed restricted prescription drugs to herself. Are they saying they think Toyota was complicit? Fascinating stuff. Watch with interest.

If the facts of this article are correct, then she hid the drugs which shows she knew it wasn't the usual thing to do or even illegal. Hardly an innocent mistake.

It is ironic that as PR chief she has caused such a PR storm. Based on his alone I think Toyota should drop her like a hot potato....

If she did really mailed it to herself, she knew she would have problems if the meds were to be found in her luggage.

Therefore, she knew it was tightly controlled.

In my opinion, she deserves what is happening.

I wonder what will happen if they find anything in Toyota office. Also, Japanese police is always slow to go search places. "We give a head start, OK?"