Hamp is not likely to be charged because prosecutors believe there was little criminal intent because a family member had mailed the pills to her to alleviate knee pain, Reuters reports.
She was arrested at a hotel in Tokyo after a package containing oxycodone was intercepted at the airport, Japan Today reports.
Oxycodone is an opioid used for pain relief, and it is legal in Japan with a prescription. However, importing the drug without permission from Japanese authorities is illegal and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors in Tokyo decided not to pursue an indictment due to the relatively minor nature of the incident, Japan’s newspaper Yomiuri reported, according to Japan Today.
National broadcaster NHK and the Kyodo News Agency reported similar versions of the story.
The package was sent to her from the U.S. on June 8 and arrived at Narita airport in Tokyo on June 11, where it was intercepted, police say.
The package was labelled “necklaces,” and contained several small boxes. Each box held accessories and several tablets, Japan Today reports, prompting suspicions by authorities of an attempt to hide the drug.
Hamp, formerly an executive at PepsiCo and General Motors, resigned her position as head of communications for Toyota after her June 18 arrest on illegal import charges, The Detroit News reports.
Upon release, Hamp is expected to leave Japan.
She was one of the highest-ranking Americans at Toyota, and her case drew the attention of Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan.
Kennedy worked earlier this year for the release of an American teacher who’d been arrested after importing a drug for attention deficit disorder.
Following Hamp’s arrest, Japanese authorities searched Toyota’s headquarters for additional evidence, AutoBlog reports.
During the investigation, Hamp maintained that she didn’t know Oxycodone was illegal in Japan. Had she been tried and found guilty, she could have faced years in prison.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda called a press conference to express support for Hamp and inform authorities that she hadn’t intended to violate Japan’s strict drug laws.
The company should have done a better job of ensuring that Hamp understood Japanese laws, he said.
Hamp resigned shortly after the news conference, the Detroit News reported.
Hamp joined Toyota in 2012 in the U.S., where she was head of Toyota North America communications, and worked for General Motors for about 25 years.
