Male U.S. citizens believed to have aided the escape of former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was indicted on charges including violation of the Companies Law, had repeatedly entered and left Japan since July 2019, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
All of their stays were short, and could have involved preparations for Ghosn's escape such as checking escape routes and an airport beforehand, according to informed sources.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office and the Metropolitan Police Department, alleging that Ghosn, 65, left Japan illegally, are reportedly investigating his departure on suspicion of it violating the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law, among other charges. They also believe that charges could be laid against Ghosn's collaborators, including complicity in his illegal departure and concealment of a suspect.
According to the sources, Ghosn left his home in Tokyo's Azabu district by himself at about 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 29 and joined three men who are U.S. citizens at a luxury hotel in the capital's Roppongi district. Ghosn is highly likely to have departed Japan with two of the three men.
The three men are believed to be a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, known as the Green Berets, aged about 60; an official related to a security company, also about 60; and a man in his 20s. Of them, the man in his 20s was the first to enter Japan. In July last year, he stayed in Japan for several days and later visited Japan several more times.
His most recent arrival in Japan was at Narita Airport on Dec. 28, the day before he joined Ghosn. After parting with Ghosn and others in a room he had reserved at the Roppongi hotel, he departed for China from the same airport.
As for the security company-related official, he had entered Japan multiple times since October and stayed for several days each time.
U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal reported in its electronic edition Tuesday that a team of 10 to 15 people of different nationalities -- including the former Green Beret member and the security company-related official -- had begun planning Ghosn's escape in earnest by the end of July. By early December, the operation to get him out of Japan via Kansai International Airport, where security checks on private jets and other inspections are relatively lax, was ready to put into action, according to the article.
Factual errors in Ghosn's claims
At a press conference on Wednesday in Beirut, ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn criticized Japan's criminal justice system as violating basic human rights. However, his claim included many misunderstandings and factual errors.
For example, Ghosn said, the conviction rate in Japan is 99.4 percent, and I believe this number is far higher for foreigners. At the press conference, he repeatedly mentioned Japan's high conviction rate and tried to justify his illegal escape by saying that Japan's trial system was not fair or just.
However, in Japan, even when a suspect is arrested, it is common that prosecutors indict the suspect only when he or she is highly likely to be convicted, according to Justice Minister Masako Mori. As a result, Japan's conviction rate is high, but it does not mean Japan's trial system is unfair.
Ghosn also referred to a language barrier faced by foreigners. But, according to statistics by the Supreme Court, of the decisions handed down by district courts and summary courts nationwide in 2017, 0.6 percent of foreign defendants provided with translators got acquittals, which is higher than the 0.2 percent of Japanese defendants who got acquittals. An experienced judge said, "Ghosn's statement at the press conference is based on incorrect facts."
Furthermore, Ghosn's criticism of interrogations were also unjustifiable. The former executive stated that he was subject to up to eight hours of questioning by prosecutors every day and he was told that the situation would get worse unless he made a confession.
However, according to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, slightly less than four hours were spent on the questioning per day on average. Ghosn reportedly saw his lawyer for about two hours almost every day, except for Sundays when he was not able to see lawyers. All the questioning was recorded and videotaped. "It is clear that prosecutors did not force him to make a confession," Takahiro Saito, the deputy chief of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said at a press conference on Thursday.
Ghosn also claimed that he was separated from his wife and that he thought he had to spend the rest of his life in Japan. He expressed strong dissatisfaction about the bail conditions that included restrictions on contact with his wife, Carole Nahas, 53, for whom the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office obtained an arrest warrant for making false testimony.
However, the restrictions were imposed for the following reasons: (1) Carole is related to the aggravated breach of trust case involving a dealership in Oman and; (2) Ghosn is suspected to have destroyed evidence via Carole. Tokyo prosecutors claim that it is the defendant's own fault.
Concerning the restriction period, another judge pointed out the possibility of the restrictions being lifted at an adequate time, saying, "Such restrictions could be lifted if we see the prospects of sorting out points of contention and evidence before the first trial hearing. In many cases, they are lifted after examination of witnesses and questioning of a defendant are finished at the latest."
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