In Harajuku, Tokyo.
A rather shady form of journalism results when the reporter quotes himself in his story, but this is what we have from someone who has actually seen Julie (apparently), so I am translating it for the record. (again, rather in a rush). According to information that I posted last week about detention conditions in Japan, her situation seems typical.
6月18日に警視庁の組織犯罪対策5課に逮捕された、トヨタ自動車のジュリー・ハンプ常務役員（55）は、慣れない留置場生活にすっかり憔悴し切っているという。担当記者によると、
「身柄は女性向けの留置場がある原宿署に置かれています。電話もパソコンも使えない生活にストレスを感じており、就寝時も電灯が消えないので不眠に悩んでいるそうです。連日、苛立って落ち着かない様子ですが、それがオキシコドンの禁断症状か否かは不明です」
Toyota officer Julie Hamp (55) who was arrested on June 18 by the Metropolitan Police Department, Organized Crime Group 5, is said to be completely haggard and emaciated from her unaccustomed life in custody. According to the reporter in charge of this story,
"She is in custody in the Harajuku police station, where there is a jail for women. She is feeling the stress of a life in which phones or PCs cannot be used, and suffers from insomnia because the electric lights stay on even during sleeping hours. Every day, she looks restless and irritated/vexed/frustrated, but whether or not there is withdrawal from oxycodone is unknown."
「彼女は世界的企業の役員という地位にあり、年収も数億円に達するエリート。仮に麻薬の常習者だったとしても売人とは考えにくい。周辺を調べる必要性も乏しく、本来なら即日、少なくとも翌12日には身柄を拘束していてもおかしくない案件だったというのです」
"She is in a position as officer of a global company, and her annual income is in the hundreds of millions of yen, so she is an elite. Even if we were to presume she is drug-dependent, it is inconceivable that she sells drugs. It is said that there is a need to investigate the surrounding [people and circumstances] that would normally take days, and it is a matter for which it would not be unusual for custody to require the next 12 days at a minimum."
トヨタに限らず、役員が麻薬で逮捕される事態は、企業のコンプライアンスに関わる重大な問題である。
「それだけに、仮にこの日より前に現役の役員が麻薬所持で逮捕されたとなると、トヨタ自動車の株主から経営陣の責任を問う声が上がるなど、総会が紛糾して大きな混乱を招く恐れがありました。加えて株価への影響も予想されましたから、警視庁はそれらに配慮をして、16日を跨いだ18日に逮捕したというわけです」
Not just Toyota, but any company would have a serious compliance problem in a situation in which an officer is arrested for drugs.
"On that basis alone, there was a concern that the general shareholder's meeting would fall into confusion and disputes if an officer was arrested for drugs in the days prior to the meeting, and shareholder voices would be raised to question the responsibility of Toyota's management team. There was also an expected impact on the share price, so the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested her two days later on the 18th in consideration of these factors."
いかな警視庁といえども、相手は純利益が2兆円に達する超巨大企業。政界への影響力を気にしたのか、或いは警視庁のOBがトヨタ本体や関連会社に天下りでもしているのか。
そこで、トヨタ自動車への配慮や天下り職員の有無を聞いたところ、「そのような事実はありません。職員の退職後の就職については、個人のプライバシーに関することであるのでお答えしかねます」（警視庁広報課）
当のハンプ氏は容疑を否認中。保釈のメドも立たないままである。
「ワイド特集 七転八起の七転八倒」より
※「週刊新潮」2015年7月2日号
Even given the strength of the Metropolitan Police Department, their opponent is a super giant company with net earnings reaching 2 trillion yen. Perhaps they may have worried about the potential impact in the political world, or perhaps retirees from Toyota or its affiliates are among the old boys employed in the Metropolitan Police Department.
So, the reporter inquired about the presence or absence of of Toyota's former employees, and the answer was: "There are no such facts. I cannot comment on our employment of retirees because that is related to personal privacy." (Metropolitan Police Department Public Relations Division)
Ms. Hamp still denies the charges. There is still no bail.
From the Wide feature, "Vicissitudes of Life" in Shukan Shincho magazine, July 2, 2015 issue