FILE PHOTO Suntory Holdings Ltd's President and CEO Takeshi Niinami speaks during an interview with Reuters at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, October 26, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) - The head of Suntory Holdings, Takeshi Niinami, said he was not interested in replacing the CEO at Nissan Motor Co 7201.T, which has been struggling with scandal and plunging profits, saying there was more work to do at the Japanese drinks maker.

“It would be an honour to be considered a candidate, but there are things to do as Suntory CEO which would take a few more years, and I am not currently interested,” he said in an emailed statement after a report said he was one of a few candidates for Nissan’s leadership.

The first outsider to lead the century-old Japanese drinks maker, 60-year-old Niinami is widely expected to eventually hand back the reins to the founding family.