A group company within Eneos Holdings, Japan's largest petroleum wholesaler, has dismissed its chairman for sexual harassment at a social gathering.

The subsidiary, Japan Renewable Energy, announced the dismissal of Chairman Yasu Shigeru on Wednesday.

The company said a whistleblower had informed it of the incident in December last year. An investigation by the company later verified the report.

Last year, parent company Eneos Holdings dismissed its president for inappropriately hugging a woman at a social gathering while drunk. And in 2022, the firm's chairman resigned for sexually harassing a woman tending to customers at a restaurant.