Suntory Chairman Takeshi Niinami Steps Down After Probe on Supplement

Suntory Holdings Ltd. Chairman and CEO Takeshi Niinami has stepped down amid an ongoing investigation into the alleged purchase of a dietary supplement suspected of being illegal in Japan, the major Japanese brewer said, Kyodo News reported.

The company said it concluded that Niinami’s actions “demonstrated a lack of awareness regarding supplements” and “rendered him unable to continue in the key position” of chairman. (Photo: IESE Business School, University of Navarra)

Niinami, a prominent 66-year-old Japanese business leader, has headed the Japan Association of Corporate Executives since April 2023 and long served as a private-sector member of the government’s key council on economic and fiscal policy.

Suntory Holdings President Nobuhiro Torii apologized for Niinami’s resignation, which took effect Monday, during a press conference.

The company said it concluded that Niinami’s actions “demonstrated a lack of awareness regarding supplements” and “rendered him unable to continue in the key position” of chairman.

While Niinami has maintained that he believed the supplement to be legal, the company said: “For the top executive management of Suntory Group, strict compliance with laws and regulations is fundamental, and exercising appropriate caution in purchasing supplements is an indispensable quality.”

Niinami’s case follows another high-profile drug-related resignation in Japan, when then–Olympus Corp. CEO Stefan Kaufmann stepped down in October 2024 over allegations he purchased illegal drugs.

Kaufmann was later sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years.