1st hearing for former Nissan exec Kelly to start Sept 15

@Brian Wheway

I have owned many cars, Nissan, Honda, Toyota, etc...

Nissan's were all junk and service was abysmal (is there a word that is worse than abysmal?if so use that).

Honda was not much better cars for the most part good but service was nearly as bad as Nissan.

Go with Toyota, great cars incredible service.

Now anyone that thinks this was not a setup has to ask these questions:

In Japan is it possible for someone without fluent Japanese to do everything they are accused of?

The answer is clearly no.

So knowing that.

Why are the only two to be arrested and charged foreigners, of which we know one was clearly not capable of anything more than the most basic Japanese?

Lets be honest, this was a coup to rid Nissan of Ghosn by the old guard because they did not like the plans to merge even more.

I hope this company finally sinks, no big loss if it does their cars are junk their service is abysmal.

Tell me guys, why is this article listed under CRIME, this tell the whole story of the justice system. ""Guilty til proven innocent ""

That Saikawa will brought in as a witness rather than prosecuted for his crimes says it all.

Photo: Hospitality Taxi

Omotenashi at its finest.

@Brian Wheway

I do the same when choosing a rental car.

@blahblah222

Absolutely great remarks.

Spot on.

I couldn't agree more.

This is sending out a message to all big companies that want to set up a new branch in Japan, don't bother! we don't want your investment, and we don't particular like foreign investment, right remain in the doldrums then! is my answer. I was involved in a truck accident the other day and it looks like my truck will be written off, one of my options was a Nissan cab star, you already know what I am thinking, your right, there is now way on this planet would I touch one just on shear principle.

Japan doesnt have a justice system, it just a tool for powerful families to take down people in their way.

Even if you are a normal Japanese citizen, even if you are shot point blank on the street and killed, as long as the perpetrator is from a powerful family, you can bet that they will be getting away with a suspended sentence at max.

Court proceedings etc are just a farce and for show anyways, everything is already decided beforehand.

Note to Self: Buy TOYOTA.

and Hiroto Saikawa, a former CEO of the automaker.

How can Saikawa be a witness he was fired for not declaring income, why isn't Saikawa on trial as well?

I hope the Japanese courts get their man.

what about the trial date for hiroto saikawa? forgot?????? he should be the one on trial before kelly.

letsberealisticToday  06:46 am JST

If he was released on bail in 2018 why the h... didn't he leave the country?

Because unlike Ghosn, Kelly believes in his innocence and is prepared to present his case in Court to prove it, and he knows that jumping bail would simply make him a fugitive from justice. Now what does that say about Carlos "I won't get a fair trial" Ghosn?

On an unrelated note, can anyone explain to me why Japanese media outlets use photos of the accused in a car?

@Condor ;).

It’s not a trial. It’s just the process to hide the authoritarian nature of Japan and appear to be democratic.

What do they want from this guy? The Japanese justice system is such a joke. Kelly is basically just leverage in all this nonsense. Ghosn's best decision ever was sneaking out of Japan.

99% sure he'll be convicted

Non-conviction would mean that Ghosn is innocent.

Injustice will be served.

99% sure he'll be convicted

This poor man was scheduled to have surgery back in 2018 but was convinced to put it off so that he could supposedly attend a single important meeting in Japan.

Little did he know that he was being lured to Japan so that he could be arrested, and as things stand now, will have been trapped in Japan for two and a half years by the time his trial finishes in July 2021.

I'm surprised his sanity is even intact. Maybe it isn't anymore.

The Japanese government has sought Ghosn's extradition through Interpol, but Lebanon has indicated it is unlikely to hand him over. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with the Middle Eastern nation.

Because of this, Japan will focus all of their energy and anger on anyone affiliated with Ghosn just to get revenge! Just give it up, Japan.

I'm sorry for the guy,not only he will be used as an "example" by the injustice system but also will have the mental and psychological suffering of a long bureaucratic system that will take literally years to finish this where in other full democracies it will take less than half the time.

Poor Kelly,and here we see the Japanese media scratching their head wondering why these pesky gaijin care so much about this alien corp called democracy.

They should leave the poor guy alone. There is something rotten in Japans justice system.

@1738Kwaaa!!

"The obvious irony of holding someone hostage in a vehicle written Hospitality Taxi."

You beat me to it.

I think it was Mr. Amakasu's idea. I can see him in the background, without a mask.

Have not seen him for a while ...

According to a person familiar with the trial's schedule, around a dozen witnesses are expected to appear in court, including two Nissan executives whose plea bargain with Tokyo prosecutors helped lead to the arrests, and Hiroto Saikawa, a former CEO of the automaker.

Saikawa? A witness? Is this a joke. The guy was caught having received an excess pay of almost a million dollars to which he was never charged, prosecuted or even interrogated by those mafia prosecutors. One of those prosecutors I should recall here was Kurokawa who has been in charge of probes against Ghosn. He was recently caught involved in illegal gabbling (never prosecuted for that either) and having closed ties to the other part of the mafia, Abe. So how could anyone with the beginning of a brain consider all of that serious? This is farce, Japan is a farce.

Kelly, a former Nissan representative director who was arrested with Ghosn in November 2018, is accused of conspiring in the alleged underreporting of the ousted chairman's remuneration by around 9 billion yen ($85.5 million) over eight years through March of that year.

This is bad reporting and essentially disinformation. The remuneration was tied to Ghosn's retirement and was only going to be paid after this retirement under the condition that he does not go to work for another car company. He didn't get any of this money yet. And when it comes to whether the amount was illegal or not, prosecutors have so far given basically no strong evidence that Kelly or Ghosn were doing that in the total ignorance of the company. And by the way again, Saikawa got the the excess of pay. He got the money.

There was a leak a few weeks ago of emails between the executives who supposedly helped the prosecutors about their intentent to find a way to get Ghosn out of Nissan as it was becoming clear al least to them that he wanted to merge the companies Nissan and Renault. I am sure the lawyers of Kelly won't miss the occasion to bring them up if the Japanese justice allows them any defense.

I suspected from the beginning that Kelly was arrested with the hope that he'd turn on his boss and testify under the new plea bargaining system.

Now that that hasn't happened, and Ghosn embarrassed the prosecutors by fleeing, he will be used as a proxy for Ghosn's punishment. In other words, he'll be spending the next 5 years or more in hearing after hearing, deliberately designed to inflict pain on Kelley, and embarrassment on Ghosn for abandoning his colleague.

Japanese justice is medieval.

Ghosn is a main target but Kelly is not, so they are not interested in Kelly is guilty or not.

"remuneration by around 9 billion yen ($85.5 million) over eight years through March of that year."

Thats a hefty chuck of awards shifted around over 8yrs. Really someone needs that much of an award for services and yet the company bottom line worker got nothing?

If he was released on bail in 2018 why the h... didn't he leave the country?

Because it is illegal. Just like Ghson’s son paying people smugglers. He should be extradited from USA, and also an investigation into where the $10m he got from his father came from.

The press sure was not interested in this guy until today. I wish him luck. He is going to need it.

I hope all the info on Saikawa and the other execs come to light in this trial.

Kelly, Who?

Sadly I guess they will hang him out to dry as a warning to not shame the system and at the same time show the world how the Japanese injustice system works and shame itself.

It seems to me Mr. Kelly was used for years by Ghosn to get money from NIssan. Poor Kelly. I wonder if he knew Ghosn's escape plan. If Kelly did not get any wrong money, then would be not guilty.

No matter how you look at it, this won't be a fair trial.

It was never meant to be. Japan's courts are kangaroo.

How can he expect to defend himself when his accuser, Nissan, is also a defendant who will plead guilty?

exactly.

This is just low, Japan. Just low.

welcome to Japan's justice system.

No trial in Japan is fair.

agree

His crime is to conspire for underreport his boss salary?!

That's not a crime. I'm not responsible for my boss taxes.

His real crime is being a foreigner here. Japanese have a penchant for using foreigners as scapegoats for EVERYTHING. Remember Michael Woodford of Olympus

The obvious irony of holding someone hostage in a vehicle written Hospitality Taxi.

Japan you never cease to amaze me.

Nissan Sales are down, and will continue to drop until they come clean. The Japanese public is aware of the lies no matter what color Nissan put on it.

No trial in Japan is fair. This guy was left to rot by Carlos.

It was tricky enough just to get himself out. Ghosn couldn't have taken Kelly with him.

"Nissan, which is also a defendant in the trial, will answer the same accusation. It is expected to plead guilty."

Guilty or not, Not A chance Mr. Kelly, I say save your lawyers fees and take the hit, few years in jail may be unacceptable , but that's what your are up against. or do it the hard way.

We all know he's already "guilty" just by association. They will probably add the years they were going to give Carlos Ghosn to his sentence.

If only he had a son who could transfer half a million $ to tranfer in crypto he could have some large musical instruments delivered to entretain him during this stressful time...

No trial in Japan is fair. This guy was left to rot by Carlos.

If he was released on bail in 2018 why the h... didn't he leave the country?

He doesn't have any former Green Berets to help him escape.

What is Nissans end game? To sell more cars? If so, this strategy is not going to work.

The district court said there will be a total of 76 public hearings until July 9 next year, after which prosecutors and the defense will give their closing arguments before a ruling is reached.

76? I takes 76 sessions to maybe then get arguments from the defence and prosecution let alone a verdict? What an absolute joke of a system. I hope he gets time served and can leave the hell hole Japan has become for him.

accused of conspiring in the alleged underreporting of the ousted chairman's remuneration 

His crime is to conspire for underreport his boss salary?!

That's not a crime. I'm not responsible for my boss taxes.

Nissan, which is also a defendant in the trial, will answer the same accusation. It is expected to plead guilty.

No matter how you look at it, this won't be a fair trial. How can he expect to defend himself when his accuser, Nissan, is also a defendant who will plead guilty? This is just low, Japan. Just low.

Will he be held hostage till Ghosn returns? Gonna be a long wait.