Sayaka Kobayashi who filed a $190 million sexual harassment suit against Toyota U.S. president

The lawsuit against Hideaki Otaka, 65, was filed May 1 with the New York State Supreme Court. It also accuses the U.S.-based subsidiary and parent company Toyota Motor Corp. of negligence.

The plaintiff, Sayaka Kobayashi, alleges that less than six months after accepting a request to become Otaka's executive assistant in March 2005, she became the target of unwanted sexual advances, that Otaka manipulated her work schedule so she would be forced to be alone with him, and that she was assaulted by him in Washington, D.C., and in New York's Central Park during fall 2005.

On May 9, the company said Otaka had stepped down. He had been scheduled to leave his post in June, but voluntarily left earlier, saying his staying on was not in the company's interests.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 13, 2006
(C) All rights reserved