Japan Oil Exec Loses Job For Sexually Harassing Bar Hostess

Japanese oil giant Eneos Holdings Inc. said Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, the recent resignation of chief executive Tsutomu Sugimori resulted from his inappropriate conduct against a woman, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: The former CEO has also stepped down as head of the Petroleum Association of Japan, an industry organization.

Sugimori's abrupt departure was announced Aug. 12, with the company citing "personal reasons" without elaborating at the time. Eneos' Wednesday follow-up came as a weekly magazine alleged in an online report that he had sexually harassed and injured a hostess at a bar in the southern prefecture of Okinawa.

The company said in a statement that it opened an investigation after the woman reported the incident, and later concluded Sugimori's behavior was inappropriate and asked him to resign.

The former CEO has also stepped down as head of the Petroleum Association of Japan, an industry organization.

Sugimori joined what is now Eneos in 1979. After serving as president of JXTG Holdings Inc., Eneos's predecessor company, he became chairman and chief executive officer of Eneos in 2020, Mainichi Japan also reported.

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