Ex-Nissan chief flees Japan for Lebanon

The embattled former auto titan Carlos Ghosn has left Japan for Lebanon to escape what he called a "rigged Japanese justice system."

Ghosn's sudden departure from the countrwhere hy e was awaiting a highly publicized criminal trial marks a dramatic twist in a yearlong saga that resulted in his ouster as chairman of Nissan (NSANF) and chairman and CEO of its alliance partner Renault (RNLSY).

"I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied, in flagrant disregard of Japan's legal obligations under international law and treaties it is bound to uphold," he said in a statement, which was released on his behalf by a public relations firm.

It is not clear how Ghosn — who holds both French and Lebanese citizenship — was able to leave Japan before his trial took place. Ghosn's lawyer Junichiro Hironaka told reporters Tuesday that his client's flight from Japan was a "complete surprise."
"We are puzzled and shocked," he said in front of TV cameras gathered outside his office in Tokyo. Hironaka added that Ghosn's attorneys hold his passports, and that the former auto executive "could not possibly use them."

The Wall Street Journal, which reported his departure earlier, quoted an anonymous source as saying that Ghosn was "tired of being an industrial political hostage."

Ghosn faces a litany of criminal charges in Japan, including allegations that he understated his income for years and funneled $5 million of Nissan's money to a car dealership he controlled. He has repeatedly denied the charges against him and has claimed that his ouster and arrest were part of a conspiratorial plot to remove him from the global alliance he built.

He said in his Tuesday statement that he has "not fled justice — I have escaped injustice and political persecution."

"I can now finally communicate freely with the media, and look forward to starting next week," he added.

The French government is also "very surprised" that Ghosn left Japan, French Secretary of State for Economy and Finance Agnès Pannier-Runacher told France Inter radio on Tuesday. _Agencies