Toyota Motor Corporation's (TMC) highest ranking female executive Julie Hamp has stepped down from her position as the company's chief communications officer after being arrested for alleged drug smuggling on June 18. Hamp is still under police custody.

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An official statement from Toyota said that Hamp's resignation has been finalised.

"TMC received notification from Ms. Julie Hamp of her intent to resign her position of Managing Officer. TMC has accepted her resignation after considering the concerns and inconvenience that recent  events have caused our stakeholders," the statement said. 

Hamp, an American, was detained last month after customs officials found 57 tablets of oxycodone, an illegal painkiller in Japan, in a parcel that arrived at the Narita airport on June 11. Hamp reportedly sent the package to herself in Japan from the US where the drugs are considered legal. Hamp has said that she did not intend to break Japanese laws. 

Reuters reported that Senior Managing Officer Shigeru Hayakawa will take over the vacated position until someone new is appointed. 

Toyota President Akio Toyoda held a televised press conference the day after Hamp was arrested. He said that the company is confident that once the investigation is complete, it will be reveal that Hamp had no intention to violate any law. He also described Hamp as a "close friend" and an "invaluable member of Toyota's team." 

Toyoda appointed Hamp in April this year as the company's global communications officer, making her the first female top executive to hold the post and the first foreign woman to join the ranks of the Japanese men-dominated positions. 

But the company's recent statement showed that they are not as confident of Hamp's innocence as they once were. The statement said that Toyota can only say a little about the controversy as the investigation is still ongoing. It emphasized that the company is "firmly committed to putting the right people in the right place, regardless of nationality, gender, age, and other factors."

TagsToyota, Toyota drug smuggling, Julie Hamp, Drug smuggling cases in Japan, Akio Toyoda, Julie Hamp arrested and resigned