Court approves Ghosn's release on ¥1 bil bail

Why not bail from day one? My guess is international pressure and the bad press this is receiving.

japan's legal system has just entered the 20th (sic) century! !

THIS.

What I have been alerting people (including JT readers) for YEARS, on how literally ANYONE here can have its life in Japan destroyed in literally 1 day by the same system that was supposed to protect its citizens. The scenario is much worse when Immigration is involved.

All the readers who dismissed countless immigration arbitrary treatment articles as "it gotta be a reason for these people to be in a detention center", where are you??

What they've done to Ghosn is exactly the same tactic used every single day with hundreds of people detained at Immigration Centers every day, lock you up until you give up and accept the consequences of whatever you have NOT done.

Japan realized the world was getting too interested in their draconian "justice" system. If there's one thing Japan hates, it's thinking the outside world has a bad image of Japan!

Crazy it took this long. I mean, Ghosn can't exactly just rock up to an airport in Japan and flee....doesn't exactly blend in with the locals, does he?!

Saikawa will be frothing out the mouth right now. Well done to the new legal team. Now, let the legal games begin!

Good, those prosecutors can go funk themselves now.

At last he is freed from this illegal kidnapping! I hope he brings a massive lawsuit against saikawa, nissan and the prosecutors. At last it’s time for revenge.

I am glad to see that Ghosn has secured bail. Of course this is not the end of his legal challenges, but this is a huge victory for the larger battle against Japan’s unfair “hostage justice” system. I hope this sets a precedent for future cases and increases both internal and external pressure on the Japanese justice system to do away with such lengthy detentions. No matter what you think of Ghosn, he has not only turned around Nissan from bankruptcy, he appears to be in the process of changing Japan itself. Remarkable!

Can we expect an appeal from the prosecutors to the Supreme Court?

That's what usually happens.

The loss of face to them is enormous, and they are not going to take this easily.

Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct

as opposed to evidence for the charges?

Hironaka said Monday that he had offered new ways to monitor Ghosn after his release, such as camera surveillance at the entrance to his residence, which the court agreed to.

Yeh, I'm sure this wasn't suggested already...

Why is the bail more then Kelly's bail? not even Horiemons bail that high, greedy..

Time for REVENGE to Nissan, Saikawa, the French Man, French Gov, Renault, Both Prosecutors, Hastalavista!

Hironaka said Monday that he had offered new ways to monitor Ghosn after his release, such as camera surveillance at the entrance to his residence and a limit on his use of electronic communications, which the court agreed to. Hironaka also questioned the grounds for Ghosn's arrest, calling the case "very peculiar," and suggesting the case could have been dealt with as an internal company matter.

"We have put in a request that we believe is convincing," Hironaka told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo Monday.

Even Hironaka KNOWS its a SETUP.

It clearly states that his bail is not the highest ever. But it is still unusually high.

While the current conditions of his release may have been recommended before, the difference is the legal team. Connections are different so things happen in different ways.

Also, his lawyer is correct. The circumstances surrounding his arrest are strange as those issues are typically handled in house.

@ klausdorth

Ghosn is accused of having hidden $80 million in earnings, so in that context $8.9 million does not sound too excessive.

They released him because they finally know now that he loves Japan truly.

¥1 billion bail?

Is the Tokyo District Court seriously suggesting that 64 year old Carlos Ghosn flight risk is akin to some mythological modern day Icarus. A Houdini capable of vanishing into thin air?

Now that Ghosn is on the loose, he can really start to cause havoc. Just as this case had gone a bit quiet, it will be back in the front pages with interviews with him.

For Nissan, it'll be a nightmare.

wow, didn't see this coming. Big applause for Hironaka. Need more lawyers like him.

But 9 million dollar bail wont set a good precedent for people who don't have that money. I wonder if this has something to do with them filing the case the UN court earlier today. That would absolutely be pathetic.

Say what???

1 billion Yen (or 9 million $) for bail?

Has ever any Japanese paid that much for bail?

I doubt it!

A simple research online shows that the highest bail amount ever in Japan was 2 billion yen, paid by Mitsura Anda, former chairman of Hannan Corp. in 2005.

Anyways, great news for team Ghosn.

Ghosn should have hired Hironaka as his lawyer from the beginning.

The smart course of action for Carlos Ghosn is head down, let his legal council earn there fees and await the trail. In this case discretion is the better part of valour.

The full statement by his lawyer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaQ4W3mB9VA&feature=youtu.be

"Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct," company spokesman Nick Maxfield said.

Unethical, okay, but was it illegal?

If acting unethically warranted imprisonment, most of us would have been imprisoned for it. That's because most of us have acted unethically at one time or another, and in one way or another.

Whether he is found innocent or guilty by the court, the presumption of innocence must be adhered to. Hope this development will create a tidal wave of changes in Japan's justice system as it exists today as the world looks in at how Japan truly operates.

The great thing about this, is he has CHANGED the Japanese corrupt judicial system, we Japanese, foreigners suffer by this system. Carlos is truly a strong individual, mentally and spiritually. He did not fold and give up with fake bow and appology like the rest of the fake appolgies that occurs . He stuck by and knows the setup was all against him, he took in the days in prison being stronger, waiting till justice has its day and it is not over yet, I wish him well to destroy Nissan and the others who have not only shown their true colors of corruption but he is a victor for democracy and the essence of what law should abound by of human rights and justice for the innocent and to bring down his conspirators. NEVER GIVE UP IN LIFE, A LESSON FOR ALL! BANZAI!

The loss of face to them is enormous, and they are not going to take this easily.

The prosecutor will be ten times twice as dangerous now. He/she must save face no matter what the cost. They see themselves as Japans guardian and will want their pound of flesh.

This new lawyer knows his job. Went straight to the international court of human rights. Already showing results.

well, the prosecution will appeal this decision (it says above), and this has happened before, around Xmas if I remember rightly, due to be freed, then reversed, so....

Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct

which is not evidence and could have been dealt with internally plus a bowing news conference like regular Japan Inc., not by an indefinite jail sentence reaching international acclaim

Excellent. But it could and should have happened months ago as the reasons to oppose bail were totally spurious.

"Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct," company spokesman Nick Maxfield said.

What are they and why the rest of the upper management not affected?

The whole company doesn't run with 1 person.

Ghosn is accused of having hidden $80 million in earnings, so in that context $8.9 million does not sound too excessive.

Excuse me but this is such a silly statement. What he is accused for does not mean that he is guilty since he has not been judged yet. Why is it so difficult to understand for some people? He is innocent until proven and judged otherwise, so your point which tries to associate the amount of money he is accused for under-reporting (and presumably he was not paid that money yet) and the bail is nonsense.

However, prosecutors appealed the court decision.

 

Justice system of mafia. The prosecutors are appealing because Nissan and even possibly also the government as some observers and experts have strongly suspected are telling them to do so.

Prosecutors say suspects may tamper with evidence and shouldn't be released.

Total BS. That's their job to secure the evidence. Trying to reverse the argument by saying that a suspect can tamper the evidence if released and use this as an excuse to indefinitely keep someone in jail with weak charges is telling a lot on the dictatorial logic that rules Japan.  

Nissan has dismissed Ghosn as chairman, although he remains on the board pending a decision at a shareholders' meeting.

  

The dismiss of Ghosn by Nissan was disgraceful as it violates the governance of the alliance itself. Nissan has no power to do so, it just does not. Renault the main shareholder has it and I find the French to be such cowards for having let such disgrace happen which a violation of the fundamental rules of capital ownership. Renaults owns Nissan, it's its decision to keep or not Ghosn as the chairman of the alliance, not the one from a disgusting being like Saikawa.

he loss of face to them is enormous, and they are not going to take this easily.

The prosecutor will be ten times twice as dangerous now. He/she must save face no matter what the cost. They see themselves as Japans guardian and will want their pound of flesh.

Which means if this is overturned they will get even more media attention on their arcane system, exactly what they don't want.

To quote Lewis Carrol this case gets "'Curiouser and curiouser!'

When it comes to being a flight risk. People that fly private have ways of moving behind the system. When you fly private, you check in at a different location and for domestic travels, you could even not announce yourself. While in flight, the plane can then request landing permissions in a foreign country and then change route to those countries.

Also, when people have citizenship in multiple places, your name may not be the same on every passport. I can attest to this because I have 3 passports and each of them have my name in different variations. For example, my American passport has my first name and my mother's last name. My Caribbean community passport has my first and middle names as well as my father's last name. My UK passport has my middle name as my first name with my father's last name. Things like this can make it easy to travel in and out of different places.

Never in the history of Japan has a Japanese CEO been treated this way, and were a Japanese CEO treated this way abroad, the government would be apoplectic.

Well he's not free yet. From today's Guardian. "Ghosn may yet remain in detention because Japanese prosecutors can hold a suspect for up to 22 days while they investigate an allegation, and then can apply for repeated one-month stretches of pre-trial detention for each charge that is eventually levelled".

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/05/carlos-ghosn-former-nissan-chairman-granted-bail-in-japan

This is good, he'll have free reign to talk back to a press core only fed the official rumour of the day

But his release hinges on the court's decision on an appeal by prosecutors that was filed within hours of the announcement he was going to be granted bail.

I wonder if the acceptance of his bail request has anything to do with the complaint made to the UN about human rights breeches. However, I wouldn't get too excited until the horse has bolted. The prosecutors appeal still has to be heard and they can quite easily make up some other BS charge to keep him locked up.

"Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct," company spokesman Nick Maxfield said.

Ah, but did he manage to say that with a straight face!?

And ethics is not law. That's the best the prosecutors have?

Well he's not free yet. From today's Guardian. "Ghosn may yet remain in detention because Japanese prosecutors can hold a suspect for up to 22 days while they investigate an allegation, and then can apply for repeated one-month stretches of pre-trial detention for each charge that is eventually levelled".

Yeah true but the point is that they declared a few weeks ago that no other charge was being investigated and that they have completed their search of allegations. If they come up with another allegation now, it will show to the world that indeed they are arbitrary coming up with accusations just to keep him in jail. In other words, they will confirm to all naive people out there that Japan is ruled by a mafia and not by the rule of law.

Japan IS ruled by a mafia... like Russia.

How long until he is re-arrested on new, but entirely related charges?

Never in the history of Japan has a Japanese CEO been treated this way

Um, Horie.

His bail approval seems to have come very soon after the formal complaint was made to the UN about his treatment.

Coincidence?

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how he would actually pay the 1 billion yen in bail money? He wouldn't have that much sitting in a bank account. Even if he could get it in cash, it would be too bulky to transport. He couldn't use a credit card. I'm guessing all his assets are tied up in investments overseas. So how does he post bail?

But his release hinges on the court's decision on an appeal by prosecutors that was filed within hours of the announcement he was going to be granted bail.

The court could conceivably uphold the prosecutors' appeal and Ghosn will stay right where he is.

His bail approval seems to have come very soon after the formal complaint was made to the UN about his treatment.

The application for bail was made last Thursday so the timing of the complaint to the UN would have been to add extra ammo and urgency. Smart lawyer.

@smartacus

that is an excellent question. I know that lawyers are capable of paying your bail for with a fee being charges based on a certain percentage of the bail.

that is still a lot of money for a lawyer to pay for a client.

However, accounts are typically able to touch client funds during such situations as well as lawyers that someone typically works with. Law firms have client funds for such emergencies.

Gladhe was release on bail wait outside at least home ,for trial date , I still believe very strongly all these cook up to make him scape goat so company can avoid heavy penalty.or some director could together with intend to get rid of him with compensation . I am a director myself .,There are no way such a huge sum of money to relocate didn't go thru the board of directors. Are they sleeping on their Joe just sign any thing pass to them .Then these is negligence on their part. So I still believe he being wrongly accuse .Probably these are the internal fight to rid of Ghoson.

Ghosn's bail is about the same as the Huawei/Meng case in Vancouver. In that instance, she put up about half the money and a bunch of local supporters donated the rest of the money. If she left the country, then the friends would be out several million dollars. Actually that approach seems to make bail-jumping less likely.

Interesting thing. Ghosn took months to get released and has to pay almost $9M.

Huawei CEO was at first under house arrest and then allowed to travel with a GPS tracker but she cannot leave Canada.

Also, she recently filed lawsuits against America and Canada over how she was detained.

@Kenji Fujimori: The full statement by his lawyer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaQ4W3mB9VA&feature=youtu.be

Thanks for the link. A couple of things he said which should weigh in Ghosn's favour.

The issues he is accused of happened more than 10 years ago and they are things which Nissan knew about more than 10 years ago. So why are these charges being put to the prosecutors as a criminal act now?

He quoted the NY Times and said that if Ghosn is found guilty then "excellent" managers of firms in other countries will no longer be able to come and work here and that this case is of great importance for the future of Japanese society.

I know #2 (and possibly 1) has been mentioned in the comments section here but it's still good to hear it coming from his lawyer at a news conference.

Nonaka is a very sharp guy. I am quite sure Ghosn isn't going to go against his advice like the did the previous hack lawyer.

@strangerland

Totally get it

Horiei was dodgy. Par for the course in Japan. But he rattled the old boys network. And didn't cowtow. So he got hammered

j proverb- The naill that stands up must be hammered down.

Oh oh spaghetti-oh

Let. The. Games. Begin.

The naill that stands up must be hammered down.

It’s ‘stake’ or ‘post’, not ‘nail’. I also made that mistake until it was pointed out to me.

He's not out yet. If the prosecutors lose their appeal I wouldn't be surprised if they arrested him again on some new, trumped-up charge.

The international community should turn their eyes too on the immigration; countless people being detained at random and at will. Many o si called “provisional release” for decades bringing into the question “what is provisional release” and for how long one can be on a provisional release?

Prosecutors say suspects may tamper with evidence and shouldn't be released.

Suspects may not tamper with evidence. Why would they? Innocent until proven guilty, remember.

"Innocent until proven guilty", BIG WRONG.

Law is flawed, in many cases. Coupled with stupidity, court could be disastrous to humanity, as simple as that.

Law is flawed, in many cases. 

Really. Rule of law certainly seems flawed in Japan.

As a strategist, I support Hironaka's calling the case that it could have been dealt with as an internal company matter, instead of charges themselves. It is his expertise to "proof" his argument. Ghosn did a good job in changing lawyers, a proof that he still is in sound mental health and fit for his job to make decisions.

"Ghosn is accused of having hidden $80 million in earnings, so in that context $8.9 million does not sound too excessive." You are not getting it are you? In Japan there have been cases where BILLIONS have been hidden (Panasonic) and even lives lost (Fukushima and Takata airbags). They are Japaense execs. They bow... they get off with out a single day in jail.

@Disi...

I wonder if the acceptance of his bail request has anything to do with the complaint made to the UN about human rights breeches.

Probably part of the tactic of the new lawyers team. At least the timing would speak for it.

Open Minded is not the same as right minded. UN has nothing to do with the case, legally speaking. The court has to give a chance for the prosecutors to prove their argument, to appear to be fair.

Solitary confinement for over 100 days. Unbelievable.

I am curious as to what others on a global scale think of the judicial system in japan. Doesn't take a lawyer to see something isn't right obvioulsy.

On a side note, think of all of the poor souls who don't have the publicity or 8 million dollars laying around to get bailed out and who had to stay in there without the family and other psychological support. I heard that place is seriously horrific. I heard they won't even let you pray, kicking the glass/cage windows. doing the same when trying to sleep.. you can't read english magazines or books. they will even tie you with ropes to a chair that would cut your blood circulation to you arms and legs if you move. the guards will look through the window and laugh at you as you are in pain and call you an ugly foreigner.

Like someone said, japan can exploit a foreigner, learn what they need, and then discard them after they get what they want at anytime while throwing them under the bus like nothing. I seriously can't see a future in humanity with that kind of law. they should have been colonized to a certain extent.

There is no perfect legal system. But Japan boasts a 99% conviction rate. That is scary. 99% doesn’t necessarily mean they are correctly convicted. They have a great coercion system.

With America, the only almost certain way to beat the legal system there is with money. The only thing money can’t beat is tax evasion.

@akie

appear to be fair.

Great choice of words. All of your comments confuse me. I can’t tell if you are convinced he’s guilty or convinced the system is mistreating him. Maybe you are finally seeing the light.

@Akie

(just wasting my time, just for once).

You may not like the universal declaration of human rights, but this is an important piece of the live together in the world. Japan seems to stay apart from it. Fine but expect to be seen medieval if you do not join it. It is quite a significant matter in worlwide politics.

Ghost will be remembered more than our dear PM will. What else, what goes around comes around. I’m very disheartened at this nation who tries so hard to look good yet always does something in the international eyes to shoot itself in the foot. Corny? Everything else has been said. This ghost story is only the beginning. Ramifications of this self serving legal system are just now going to appear.

I am real concerned about this. What if Ghosn escaped to Lebanon or Brazil on private yacht. He will never be seen again as those nations would simply refuse to cooperate with Japan and hand him over. Is this justice? I feel sorry for Nissan line workers.

Akie Today  09:33 pm JST

I support Hironaka's calling the case that it could have been dealt with as an internal company matter, instead of charges themselves. It is his expertise to "proof" his argument. 

The burden of proof is not on Ghosn and Hironaka, Akie. They do not have to prove that Ghosn is innocent. The prosecutor has to prove that he is guilty.

Please don't reply to this with "big wrong" or some other nonsense, Akie, like you did before. It's not wrong. You are.

You have made several glaringly wrong statements on here, Akie. I suggest getting some facts right first, before you post more comments on here. You're embarrassing yourself. No offence.

Let me guess:

Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) the prosecutors are going to "serve a fresh arrest warrant" on Ghosn, accusing him of some other crime that they curiously did not accuse him of before, so that they can justify keeping him in jail.

You read it here first.

The burden of proof is not on Ghosn and Hironaka, Akie. They do not have to prove that Ghosn is innocent. The prosecutor has to prove that he is guilty.

@ JenniSchiebel. Japan does not use American law. It would be very wise to think about that, if you are able to.

@Ganbare--are you joking about the yacht thing? Don't you have faith in the SDF naval patrol to outrun a yacht?

@JJ Jetplane--corrections on the Meng case: she is confined to Vancouver city limits, can only be out of her home during daylight hours, and agreed to hire a 24/7 squad of guards that she is paying an ungodly amount for (thousands of dollars daily).

Ganbare Japan! Today  11:02 pm JST

The burden of proof is not on Ghosn and Hironaka, Akie. They do not have to prove that Ghosn is innocent. The prosecutor has to prove that he is guilty.

@ JenniSchiebel. Japan does not use American law.

Yes, I know that. I never said Japan uses American law.

But the legal principle of innocent till proven guilty is still the law in Japan. Whether or not it is actually practiced is another thing.

You don't support the "guilty till proven innocent" concept, do you?

Also, you seem to be assuming that I am American. I am not.

It would be very wise to think about that, if you are able to.

No need for the snarky comments. Be mature.

@Ganbare..

Ghosn made the line workers keep their job as Nissan was going bankrupt.

Ghosn has a huge ego, much bigger than the Saikawa's one, he will not try to escape. His life objective now is to kill this odious judiciary system and the cockroaches in Nissan in a legal manner.

Or all the charges are discarded and he keeps is promised money for a deserved retirement. But I doubt this will happen.

I bet!

Ganbare Japan! Today  10:52 pm JST

I am real concerned about this. What if Ghosn escaped to Lebanon or Brazil on private yacht. 

Yes, of course. Let's hold people for lengthy periods of time, contrary to every international standard of civilized countries, because there's always a one-in-a-million chance that they might escape on a yacht.

Yes, that is a very valid reason for denying basic human rights and behaving like a third-world dictatorship.

I wonder which film or TV drama the "escape on a yacht" idea came from.

Stayed up to watch the coverage on a popular current events news show to see how they were playing this. They gave it about 30 seconds at the very end saying he was out and I wonder what happens now, followed by a five minute rundown of the latest shogi match! Big story for the international press, not so much on the national coverage . Rather telling. No spin, no coverage ay?

Ghosn otsukaresama. Have a good meal and a bath and come out swinging !

Ganbare Japan!Today  10:52 pm JST

I am real concerned about this. What if Ghosn escaped to Lebanon or Brazil on private yacht. He will never be seen again as those nations would simply refuse to cooperate with Japan and hand him over. Is this justice? I feel sorry for Nissan line workers.

You know, GJ, there is really no need to defend EVERY action Japan ever takes. If I am correct in assuming that Japan is your native country ... you can still love your country and think it's wonderful, but still validly criticize it or disagree with its acts once in a while.

I love my country too, but that doesn't mean I support or defend everything it ever does.

It seems that your pressing need to defend Japan in each and every situation tends to cloud your objective judgment. Well, maybe.

Japan is supposed to be a civilized "first world" country, and in most respects, it is. But its treatment of arrested defendants (not just Ghosn) leaves a lot to be desired.

Japan really must improve in that area, because as it is now, it treats arrested people not much better than tinpot third-world dictatorships do.

It is very difficult to argue law with those who don't understand it. Innocent until proven guilty, what a joke. If you are innocent, you are innocent, it dosn't to be proven. Law is flawed, because it is subjective. Coupled with arbitrariness of proof, you will be guilty even if you are innocent, or you will be innocent even if you are guilty.

in a few hours from now , as Goshn is on the way out the door, they will serve a fresh warrant for his arrest on some made up charge and he will be back to square one. The Japanese justice system is a sham.

The fact that he can afford to pay that bail and continue to change laywers already indicate just how much money he has. To pay that much just to go home? I rather stay in jail. Is not like he get abuse in there anyway or get horrible food.

WooHOO!!! Ghosn FREE! Now send Saikawa a case of KY. Let the FUN Begin...

I see the principle of innocent until proven guilty is hard to grasp for some and ernest attempts to explain don’t seem to get through.

To be generous, some people find it hard to believe that people in positions of authority are not perfect, and the possibility of miscarriage of justice could never cross their mind.

now I hope he will have a fair trial, and a fair sentence, which means 10 years in jail

Solitary confinement for over 100 days. Unbelievable.

Astounding, and utterly disgusting.

This could go some way to explaining the very high re-offending rate in Japan, (68% I believe) and increasing levels of juvenile recidivism.

Keeping people in virtual solitary for such length of time would have a detrimental effect on a person's mental health.

Akie and Hiro,

Ghosn is first of all paying an enormous bail because he deserves his freedom. Anyone can understand that. On top of that, he will see his family and his family can see him. Being with family is a major source of emotional strength for all of them as they negotiate through this ordeal. And finally, he will be able to work more closely with his defense team in preparation for the trial.

now I hope he will have a fair trial, and a fair sentence

So you want him to get a fair trial, but are already condemning him as guilty. Bit of a disconnect there.

what criminal act he committed? bail $8.9 million, another unfair act to foreigner from japan jurisdiction system. shame.

 I feel sorry for Nissan line workers.

Really? There wouldn't be any Nissan line workers if not for Ghosn. Gamnbare, you should take a page from Nonaka. He is a man who really cares about Japan. As he said, if this is allowed to pass, businesses will avoid Japan. A fair legal system is essential to any country that wants investment.

If I am going to invest in a country with kangaroo courts, I will at least choose a developing one with high returns for the risk.

you can still love your country and think it's wonderful, but still validly criticize it or disagree with its acts once in a while.

I wish more people got this. One can criticise elements of Japan without being anti-Japanese, just the same as one can criticise elements of America without being anti-American.

That said, I have no sympathy for crooked corporate fraudsters, whoever they are and whatever their nationality.

May justice prevail!

Ghosn FREE!!! YIPEE!

Good for Ghosn. A hefty "bribe" to pay to get out of the gulag that is the Japanese detention center, but seems like his new defense team is money well spent.

Can't see how day to day living will be though, he has such a recognizable face that he can't really walk around freely without press or even just regular schmucks hounding him. It's almost a sort of house arrest at this point. But at least it's better than being unlawfully detained.

Interesting that we never see the face of the prosecutor.

It is supposed to be a 1-2-1 battle, why only one is exposed in Japan?

Japanese citizens need to rise up against their appalling judicial system.