[2001 ZTS]

$190M LAWSUIT VS. TOYOTA CEO

Quote:May 3, 2006 -- Toyota's top U.S. exec got rear- ended yesterday with a shocking $190 million sex- harassment suit that accuses him of groping his personal assistant, wooing her with roses and jewelry and bragging about cheating on his wife.
Sayaka Kobayashi says her bawdy boss, Hideaki "Harry" Otaka, 65 - the North American CEO of the company - repeatedly asked her to intimate lunches, walks in Central Park and on business trips, where he tried to engage in sexual conduct.

She says he once told her he wanted her to be the mother of his children. When he discovered she had wed her boyfriend, he allegedly replied, "If I had known you were getting married, I wouldn't have bothered you."

"He physically grabbed her, groped her body, tried to kiss her," said her lawyer, Christopher Brennan. "If you did that on the street, you'd be arrested."

The explosive suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, accuses Toyota of doing little to probe Kobayashi's complaints beyond a corporate exec telling the 42-year-old woman to confront her boss alone in their New York office, where he allegedly criticized her "for not properly thanking him" for his gifts.

The suit also claims the corporate exec told Kobayashi he didn't want to offend her boss with her allegations - so he told Otaka it was Kobayashi's boyfriend who was complaining about the harassment.

Kobayashi yesterday called her treatment "a personal nightmare, one I hope will never be endured by another employee."

"I came to work frightened and nervous, having to think how I would respond to his personal comments and solicitations."

Kobayashi, a 10-year Toyota veteran, has been reassigned, but is on medical leave because of a condition she attributes to Otaka's harassment.

A Toyota spokesman, speaking on behalf of the company and Otaka, said he had no comment on the suit, which names as defendants Otaka, Toyota North America and its Japanese parent, Toyota Motor Corp.

In 2004, Otaka became president and CEO of Toyota North America, whose sales account for almost half of Toyota Motor Corp.'s projected $11.5 billion in profits.

Brennan said Toyota tapped Otaka for the North American job despite his widespread reputation as a lothario.

Otaka handpicked Kobayashi, a Queens resident, to be his personal assistant in March 2005, and she said he behaved professionally until September, when he raised eyebrows by hand-delivering two dozen long-stemmed roses to her desk on her birthday.

Later that month, during a Washington, D.C., business trip, Otaka told her to come to his hotel room, where he asked "why a pretty woman like you was never married," the suit said. He then "approached Ms. Kobayashi, forcibly grabbing her body and attempting to engage in sexual contact with her," the suit charges.

After she broke free and told him she wanted only a "professional relationship," Otaka allegedly patted his bed and said, "You can sleep over here tonight if you like."

By the looks of her I'm guessing alcohol may have been a factor

[ANTHONYD]

MMMM SAKI

[dBlast]

Faki, Saki, fi dolla (no make that $190,000,000.00) :lol:

[habmann]

I've gotta believe that alcohol was involved.

[mo_focus]

mmm, for 190Mil it better be lot more Saki ;)

[habmann]

I've gotta believe that alcohol was involved.

[ZTS_DJ]

wow, that guy had to have been drinking

[Frost__2001]

dBlast,May 3 2006, 05:23 PM Wrote:Faki, Saki, fi dolla  (no make that $190,000,000.00)  :lol:
[right][snapback]185083[/snapback][/right]

She looks liek a typical Japanese woman, most of them are very plain, and most don't wear make up.... not to mention I think that quote of $190,000,000.00 is a bit out of wack and more or less in Yen = 1.9 million CAD / USD

[SangriaRedZX5]

One scary Japanese Woman!