A UN panel has described Japan's extended pretrial detention of former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn as an "abuse of process." The Japanese government lodged an objection to the panel.
The UN Human Rights Council's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released on its website a report dated November 20, outlining its opinions.
TOKYO — The financial misconduct trial of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly began Tuesday with Kelly saying he committed no crimes and was only trying to keep his star boss Carlos Ghosn from leaving.
The charges being heard at Tokyo District Court center on Kelly's alleged role in failing to report to Japanese authorities the future compensation of Ghosn, who led Nissan Motor Co. for two decades.
Michael Taylor
U.S. prosecutors claim that the son of Carlos Ghosn made roughly $500,000 in cryptocurrency payments to one of the men who helped smuggle the former Nissan executive from Japan and into Lebanon.
An internal email trail reportedly supports former boss Carlos Ghosn's claim that Nissan orchestrated his ouster. The leaked emails have been corroborated by sources familiar with their contents, Bloomberg reports.
Emails going back to February 2018, a year before his arrest, allegedly describe a deliberate and multi-pronged effort — a "methodical campaign," Bloomberg said — to remove Ghosn from the company and in so doing, put Nissan in position to negotiate a more favorable relationship with alliance partner Renault.
Authorities say this Dec. 30, 2019, image from security camera video shows Michael Taylor, center, and George-Antoine Zayek at passport control at Istanbul Airport in Turkey. Taylor, a former Green Beret and his son, Peter Taylor, 27, were arrested Wednesday in Massachusetts on charges they smuggled Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in a box in December 2019, while he awaited trial there on financial misconduct charges. / Getty Images
Japanese prosecutors have begun searching the office of a lawyer who served for former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn. Ghosn, who has been indicted in Japan over financial misconduct, escaped to Lebanon last month, skipping bail.
The prosecutors are investigating Ghosn's flight as suspected violation of the immigration control law. They say those who helped him flee could be charged on suspicion of aiding a criminal in avoiding capture.
A number of Japanese lawyers for former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn have resigned, following his escape to Lebanon.
Lawyer Junichiro Hironaka told reporters that he resigned as of Thursday.
At least two lawyers have resigned from the defense team of former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn.
One of the lawyers, Junichiro Hironaka, told reporters that he had resigned on Thursday.
TOKYO — Japanese attorneys representing Carlos Ghosn, including lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka, quit on Thursday following the former Nissan chief's flight to Lebanon from Japan, where he had been fighting financial misconduct charges. Hironaka had been representing Ghosn in his defense against financial misconduct charges. His move, announced Thursday, was widely expected after Ghosn escaped to Lebanon late last month. A second lawyer in Ghosn's three-person legal team, Takashi Takano, also quit on Thursday, according to an official at his office. A person who answered the telephone at the office of the third lawyer, Hiroshi Kawatsu, said she did not know if he still represented the former automotive executive. Hironaka said in a statement that the entire team working on the case at his office will quit but did not outline reasons. He has said before he felt some empathy for Ghosn's reasons for escape, while stressing he had hoped to win vindication in court. Hironaka is respected for winning high-profile cases in this nation where the conviction rate is higher than 99%. Among the cases he has handled is that of Atsuko Muraki, a Welfare Ministry official accused of falsely approving a group to qualify for mail discounts. She was acquitted in 2010. Also Thursday, Nissan released steps it was taking to prevent a recurrence of Ghosn's scandal, and reiterated its denouncement of Ghosn. The automaker said in a report submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange that Ghosn had the authority to "single-handedly" determine directors' compensation and such information was not shared with other departments at the company. The underreporting of his future compensation is among the allegations Ghosn faced in Tokyo. In a news conference last week in Beirut, Ghosn insisted again that he was innocent of the charges, which also included breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for his personal gain. He said he fled because he felt he could not expect a fair trial in Japan. Ghosn's flight while he was out on bail awaiting trial means his case will not go on in Japan. Interpol has issued a wanted notice but his extradition from Lebanon is unlikely. Ghosn has accused Nissan and Japanese officials of conspiring to bring him down to block a fuller integration of Nissan with its French alliance partner Renault SA of France. Ghosn, who has signed on an international team of lawyers, has expressed willingness to stand trial in Lebanon. Nissan also said that Ghosn obtained compensation from a venture company in the Netherlands set up Mitsubishi, a smaller Japanese automaker with which Nissan set up an alliance under Ghosn. Ghosn has denied wrongdoing about the spending at the venture. Nissan said independent outside directors had been added to its board. It denied recent reports about troubles in the Renault alliance, and has stressed the alliance remains strong. Japanese prosecutors have said repeatedly they are confident they have a case, and Ghosn's flight underlines how he sought to skirt the law. Ghosn led Nissan, based in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, for two decades, rescuing it from near-bankruptcy. Reuters contributed to this report.