Former Toyota communications chief Julie Hamp will be released from jail Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News (via Kyodo News).

Hamp was jailed June 18 for allegedly mailing herself 57 Oxycodone pills, which are illegal in Japan. She resigned her position with Toyota on June 30 as one of the global automaker’s highest-ranking female executives.

The reason for Hamp’s release is unclear. Bloomberg reported that prosecutors in Japan didn’t have enough evidence to indict Hamp on the charges. Kyodo News (via translator) reported prosecutors determined Hamp’s actions weren’t malicious and her resignation may have been enough punishment.

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Resigned Toyota PR chief Julie Hamp was named to PR Week’s “Power List” two weeks after being busted for allegedly importing illegal prescription painkillers into Japan last month. Hamp allegedly received 57 pills of Oxycodone in a box labeled “necklaces” at Narita Airport in Tokyo.

The list, which ranks her No. 10, was released the same day Hamp resigned her position and included an editor’s note at the top explaining the awkward timing.

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The first female senior executive to ever hold a managing officer role with Toyota has resigned.

The uncharged Julie Hamp remains in custody in Japan after being accused of attempting to import Oxycodone from the United States. Japanese prosecutors have 20 days to charge Hamp. That window expires on July 8.

Toyota issued a statement today:

On June 30, 2015, Toyota Motor Corporation (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.

Senior Managing Officer Shigeru Hayakawa will act as Hamp’s interim replacement.

Toyota PR exec Julie Hamp isn’t having the best time in Japan right now, and the situation could worsen thanks to the nation’s strict drug importation laws.

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Reuters is reporting police have raided Toyota’s office in Tokyo in connection with the arrest of communications chief Julie Hamp over alleged drug importation offences.

When asked, a Toyota spokesman declined to comment on the nature of the police presence, but said the company is cooperating with police.

Hamp, the first female senior executive at Toyota, has a long road ahead of her if there’s enough evidence to bring her to trial, as we covered last week.

[Source: Reuters]

Yesterday, TTAC reported on the arrest in Japan of Toyota Chief Communications Officer Julie Hamp on drug smuggling charges. We have new information on what awaits Hamp now.

Through our anonymous source, Hamp’s alleged receipt of 57 Oxycodone pills — marked in a parcel dubbed “necklaces” — in the mail at Tokyo’s Narita Airport is a fairly common practice, where U.S. citizens in Japan take over housing from another foreigner, then use the previous occupant’s name to ship whatever drugs they desire. Japanese authorities routinely intercept the packages, which are then delivered as usual prior to a raid hours later.

The idea for allowing the delivery to go through as planned is if the package was delivered in error, the current occupant would either return it to the post office, or bring it to the nearest police station if thought to be suspicious. In most cases, the raid finds the package is already opened, and the drugs partially consumed.

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Toyota’s newly-minted Chief Communications Officer, Julie Hamp, has been arrested for allegedly accepting a package of Oxycodone through the mail at the Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan that originated in the United States.

Hamp, who is the first female managing officer with Toyota, took the post in April after “Prime Minister Shinzo Abe … called on corporate Japan to appoint women to 30 percent of top jobs by 2020,” reports Reuters.

Toyota has released a statement in Hamp’s defence, saying, “Toyota has been made aware of Ms. Hamp’s arrest, but has no further facts in light of the ongoing investigation by the authorities. We are confident, however, that once the investigation is complete, it will be revealed that there was no intention by Ms. Hamp to violate any law.”

Ironically, Hamp’s Twitter account (left) features a quote that couldn’t be more fitting at this moment.

More as it develops.