(Bloomberg) — Takeshi Niinami, who resigned as chief executive of Suntory Holdings Ltd.’s after his home was searched for cannabis-based drugs, said in a published interview that he didn’t think the products he obtained were illegal, suggesting that he may seek to clear his name. 

Police are investigating Niinami, 66, over supplements, Suntory President Nobuhiro Torii said at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. Local media said they were cannabidiol, or CBD, products, which are legal in Japan as long as they are completely free of tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, a psychoactive compound.

Anything containing THC above an extremely low threshold are classified as narcotics in Japan, and possession or transfer of CBD products containing THC is punishable by as much as seven years in prison, according to Japanese law.

The outspoken executive, who frequently has rankled Japan’s business establishment, is scheduled to appear at Wednesday’s regular press conference of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, where he serves as chairman, according to the powerful big business trade group known as Keizai Doyukai.

Niinami denied the allegations against him, according to the Asahi newspaper and other media, but declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg. Niinami has no intention of stepping down as chair of the Keizai Doyukai, according to the Asahi report. 

As Suntory’s CEO and chair of the country’s second-biggest business group, Niinami has been an outspoken and influential voice in business circles. For more than a decade, he has pushed to globalize Suntory as the Japanese beverage giant faces slower domestic consumption and heightened competition abroad. 

Niinami told the Bunshun magazine that he had learned about CBD products in 2022, allegedly from a massage therapist in New York, and purchased them after being assured that they didn’t contain THC. 

He then, in what was described as an 80-minute interview, explained how the therapist sought to send the products via her brother in Japan, who was arrested for suspected narcotics violations. Police discovered his address, leading to the raid on his home, Niinami said. 

Even so, Niinami was quoted as saying that he was forced to resign regardless of the products’ legality because of what the company’s board considered to be his poor judgment in the matter. Suntory said in a statement that his lack of knowledge about what was in the supplements disqualified him from leading the beverage giant.

The fact that the chairman of Suntory — a company that also sells health supplements — allegedly went out of his way to obtain such products from overseas and subsequently became the subject of a police investigation raises concerns, said Yasutake Honma, an ESG analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

“It begs the question of why it was purchased,” Honma said. “These doubts could affect the company’s stock price and influence consumer behavior, ultimately damaging shareholder value.”

Listed unit Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd.’s shares gave up early gains of as much as 5.2% following reports of Niinami’s resignation, and closed 2.9% higher at ¥4,725 in Tokyo on Tuesday. The stock is down 5.8% this year.

Niinami’s frequent appearances in Japanese and international media made him a highly visible, and often controversial, presence in a business environment known for being slow to change and risk-averse.

In July, Niinami called for Japan’s central bank to raise interest rates, warning that failure to do so was keeping the yen weak, and in turn fueling soaring prices for food and other imports.

Suntory hired Harvard-educated Niinami in 2014, making him the first executive outside the founding family. He helmed the company’s integration with Beam Inc., which it bought for $16 billion. In December, Suntory replaced Niinami by promoting Torii as president, in a move that saw the Japanese whiskey maker’s reins being handed back to the family. Niinami stayed as CEO and chairman.

Before joining Suntory, Niinami headed Japanese convenience store chain Lawson Inc. for 12 years.

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