Tokyo (AFP) – A former CEO of Japanese optical equipment firm Olympus was found guilty on Friday of a drug charge, with a Tokyo court handing down a suspended jail sentence. German-born Stefan Kaufmann, who became chief executive officer in April 2023, was sentenced to “10 months in prison, suspended for three years,” a Tokyo District Court spokeswoman told AFP.
Kaufmann bought drugs such as cocaine and MDMA on three occasions in Tokyo between June and November 2023, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported, citing the ruling. Kaufmann resigned in October after the drug allegations emerged. He first joined the European arm of the Japanese firm in 2003 and became the company’s second non-Japanese president.
Olympus had been in the camera business since 1936 but struggled along with industry rivals after the advent of smartphones. The company said in 2020 it was selling its struggling camera division to focus on medical equipment such as endoscopes. Japan has strict drug laws and possession can result in jail time.
In 2017, a German executive working at Volkswagen’s Tokyo office was arrested on suspicion of drug use. An American Toyota executive was arrested in 2015 on charges that she had a controlled drug — the painkiller oxycodone — mailed to her Tokyo residence. She was released after several weeks in custody.
© 2024 AFP
