Taizo Mizuno, chairman of sporting goods retailer Alpen Co., was arrested Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting and injuring a woman in November, police said.

Mizuno is suspected of stealing 100,000 yen ($955) in cash from the woman and taking her driver's license after assaulting her in a hotel room in Nagoya, central Japan.

The 72-year-old denied the charge, while admitting that he and a 42-year-old woman scuffled during an argument, the police said.

According to the police, Mizuno choked the woman and groped her in the hotel room on the afternoon of Nov. 29. She sustained injuries that required three weeks to heal.

Alpen President Atsushi Mizuno told reporters that the company has confirmed the arrest of the chairman but decline to comment further.

The Alpen group dates back to 1972, when a small ski shop called Alpen was launched in Nagoya, according to the company's website.