"Japan oil giant says misconduct against woman led to CEO resignation" 21 September 2022

Japanese oil giant Eneos Holdings Inc. said Wednesday the recent resignation of chief executive Tsutomu Sugimori resulted from his inappropriate conduct against a woman [...].

Sugimori's abrupt departure was announced 12 August, with the company citing "personal reasons" without elaborating at the time. Eneos's Wednesday follow-up came just after 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.

Sugimori joins a growing list of prominent Japanese men who were forced out of their jobs because of sexual misconduct. Women in Japan, who had been reluctant to come forward with allegations of misconduct, are now less hesitant to do so, encouraged by the rise of the #Me Too movement.

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