Ghosn posts ¥1 billion bail; released after 108 days in detention

The case has cast a harsh light on Japan's criminal justice system, which allows suspects to be detained for long periods and prohibits defense lawyers from being present during interrogations that can last eight hours a day.

Not even close to harsh enough, as it took literally millions of dollars to secure his release on bail!

Seems to me that the court here arbitrarily sets bail based upon the amount of money the defendant has in their possession and not based upon the alleged "crime" that they are charged with!

His being given bail will also greatly lessen the light on those still detained, but who dont have the money or powerful attorneys that will fight for them, shoganai.....

I bet he is relieved to get out of his cell and get some fresh air.

Earlier on Wednesday, a car from the embassy of France, where Ghosn holds nationality, arrived at the detention center, carrying his wife and daughter

At least the embassy was prudent enough not to choose a Nissan.

While the bail is a significant step, Ghosn still faces a criminal justice system with a conviction rate of 99.9 percent.

I wish the media and news would stop with this HUGE misconception of reality! The prosecutors only take cases to court where they KNOW they will gain a conviction. Many cases never even get that far, even after long periods of detention, because the cops can not secure a confession or they dont have enough actual evidence to convict.

If you actually try 100 cases and get 99 convictions anyone would think WOW 99 out of a 100!

But when you read between the lines and realize that there were maybe 1000 other cases too that never went to trial the conviction rate stays the same, but in reality it's more like 10%, yet the prosecutors will never actually SHARE that information openly because it ruins their "image"

Weedkila - was gonna say that.

At the time of his arrest, he had been seeking a full merger of the companies, an idea opposed by many Nissan executives.

Possible, then, that Nissan fabricated the evidence that got him arrested. Those Nissan executives were perhaps worried about being "downsized" out of a job.

Credited with reviving Nissan in the early 2000s, 

It should better read that Renault and Ghosn saved Nissan from bankruptcy. Get to the point.

However, his arrest has since muddied the outlook for the alliance, which is based on a web of cross-shareholding and operational integration.

I am sorry but this is a confusing description of a situation which is actually simple. Renault owns Nissan, period. So from a capital ownership perpective, it is simple. Renault is the parent company of Nissan and Nissan is a subsidiary of Renault. The term alliance is overly and confusingly used rather to describe the mechanism which was implemented where each structure continued to operate with some independence, that's all. Nissan is not a partner of Renault as the Japanese started to say, again it's a subsidiary of Renault so it's under its governance.

Renault is the parent company of Nissan and Nissan is a subsidiary of Renault. 

Dont ever say this to anyone at Nissan, as in reality Renault only holds 43% or so of Nissan stock and only has 2 (I believe) board positions at Nissan. They would need over 50% of Nissan stock to merge the companies and make it a subsidiary, if I recall correctly!

Or something like the internet.

The infantile Japanese media is still flying over Kosuge prison right now........even though Ghosn is long gone,no pun intended.I have just counted at least 8 helicopters hovering over it.Aren't there any noise abatement laws over here?

What’s with all the masks and caps? Everyone got the sniffles?

Wonder when he will talk to the media ? Hey, if it works for the other side!

Good they have all those Satsu around him to prevent his escape!

Many cases never even get that far, even after long periods of detention, because the cops can not secure a confession or they dont have enough actual evidence to convict.

If there isn't enough evidence to convict someone, then there should not be a long period of detention.

Just about every free civilized country in the world understands this, and carries out criminal justice accordingly.

Every free civilized country, it seems, except Japan.

Other execs at Nissan had a seething loathing for Ghosn and his lifestyle, but had amnesia when it came to the fact that he literally rescued Nissan from becoming a third-rate care company. I bet the perks enjoyed by the Toyota, Honda, Sony and other top Japanese company CEOs make Ghosn's compensation look like crumbs (to quote Nancy Pelosi).

The reason for the masks is for less harrassment and to get away from the paparazzi perhaps... logic.. paparazzi in any country is always wrong, they are just there because any media company is just that a FOR profit company, that needs CONTENT, leave the guy alone!

as in reality Renault only holds 43%

This is actually enough to control Nissan. Also another point is that since Renault owns 43% of Nissan, it has already indirect control of the Renault-Nissan group. But Renault owns also a direct 50% of it which means that juridically it controls 100% of it. So Renault has full control here.

and only has 2 (I believe) board positions at Nissan.

Does not matter since Nissan does not have voting rights anyway and the governance of Nissan is certainly not independent.

I like how the press was separated from Ghosn. Usually when a famous person is released from detention they appear in front of the press to make their Humiliating Public Apology; "I am sorry for causing trouble." They could not have Carlos speak.

I hope he can fully enjoy his time outside because after that, he's gonna spend 10 years in prison

The fact everyone is wearing a surgical mask makes the case appear all the more creepy.

Let me guess..the prosecution is not happy and will find one more thing to convict him with so that they can re-arrest him. I don't know but, it's the first thing that came to mind.

Time to fight back.

Good luck Mr. Ghosn

So, NOW the Japanese prison system is so concerned over Ghosn's health that they slapped a white paper face doily on him? Is everyone in this photo so terribly, terribly affected by pollen? Yet another photo that makes the system appear childish and silly. Glad Ghosn is free and looking forward to his suing the seat covers off Nissan, new "Razor" Hironaka at his side. Please reform the Japanese judicial system into the 21st C.

What’s with all the masks

This is Japan, lol.

He has agreed to set up cameras at the entrances and exits to his residence, and is prohibited from using the internet

What! So he can't access JT! This is an outrage!

Why walk him out with the largest correction officers in the whole of Japan, and in a prisoner orange bib? This corrupts the future court case.

Seems to me that the court here arbitrarily sets bail based upon the amount of money the defendant has in their possession and not based upon the alleged "crime" that they are charged with!

His being given bail will also greatly lessen the light on those still detained, but who dont have the money or powerful attorneys that will fight for them, shoganai.....

Japan still has a long way to go to having a fair, unbiased, democratic legal system.

The infantile Japanese media is still flying over Kosuge prison right now........even though Ghosn is long gone,no pun intended.I have just counted at least 8 helicopters hovering over it.Aren't there any noise abatement laws over here?

Kosuge needs to be kept in the spotlight. it is a disgrace to modern Japan.

Is Goshn sick with the flu? Maybe the kafuncho is pretty bad this week. Coz that photo with all those guys wearing masks, lol.

DaveAllTogether

Exactly - just as expecred.

Ha ha why are they all wearing surgical masks in the picture ?

Is it to stay annonomous or is the air bad ?

Or do they all have the flu ?

Francois Zimeray, the lawyer for Ghosn's family members, turns out to be a man who knew which buttons to push. Smart move on his part to have the Ghosns go to the United Nations' Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and submit a document complaining about Carlos' treatment. That got the attention of Japanese authorities in a hurry.

The disguise attempt was truly comedic!

YubaruToday 04:20 pm JST

While the bail is a significant step, Ghosn still faces a criminal justice system with a conviction rate of 99.9 percent.

I wish the media and news would stop with this HUGE misconception of reality! The prosecutors only take cases to court where they KNOW they will gain a conviction. Many cases never even get that far, even after long periods of detention, because the cops can not secure a confession or they dont have enough actual evidence to convict.

If you actually try 100 cases and get 99 convictions anyone would think WOW 99 out of a 100!

But when you read between the lines and realize that there were maybe 1000 other cases too that never went to trial the conviction rate stays the same, but in reality it's more like 10%, yet the prosecutors will never actually SHARE that information openly because it ruins their "image"

Yubaru - actually that's not entirely true. You left out the most damning piece of information. Many, many convictions have been based on coerced confessions. Evidence was never enough or non-existent, so the logical course of action for the prosecutors was to force a result positive to them.

This is widely acknowledged across many divisions in Japan.

It has only been recently focused upon due to some notorious cases which have attracted media scrutiny.

How many 1,000s of false prosecutions distort reality and produce the 99% conviction rate?

We will never know, but it's naive in the least to believe police/prosecutors only progress with guilty cases - simply, because ample evidence exposing such failings exists.

Spanish Inquisition techniques have no place in a Modern Democracy.

Sign! Sign! Sign!

He has agreed to set up cameras at the entrances and exits to his residence

Well that won't work, he'll just wear a mask, like in the picture, very clever !

Finally, thanks to the high intelligence and experience of a Japanese lawyer: the excellent Hironaka carried a double blow: the first is to change, even slightly, the external image of Japan, much more degraded than the think a lot of Japanese. This deterioration is due to the Japanese pre-trial detention system, which contrasts sharply with Japanese modernity, which has a real interest in reforming the current system of medieval detention.

Ha ha why are they all wearing surgical masks in the picture ?

Maybe they don't like the idea of having their face plastered all over the media. They're not Americans, after all.

How about a Japanese judge for the international court in The Hague?

Not sure why they need masks to escort the man out of the building. They are obsessed with covering their faces, hiding things, and what others think of them. They are like the same person...seems like damn near everyone on the trains over there wore those masks,..and with nothing to do with them having allergies! I remember the eyes and stares at me when they would sit across from me,..watching every move from me picking my nose to looking out the window at nature. Maybe I should not be looking at this,.. as these goons trigger parts of my trauma.

Nintendo ad: The future Super Carlos driving a Leaf in the Video Game!

(We need a laugh sometimes in this ridiculous story)

Detention = JAIL

Hopefully this will shine light on the shady Japanese judicial system.

And each time to go round you get a free charge and a get out of jail card, three times round you get to the next level, and drive a Tesla, I'm just glad the poor man got bail.

Not sure why they need masks to escort the man out of the building. They are obsessed with covering their faces, hiding things, and what others think of them.

exactly, bunch of cowards, they threw him in jail on trumped up charges and cant even show their faces... I really do hope Goshn nails them all, takes the case to the UN and shames up the disgraceful justice system in Japan.

@weedkila

I think you will actually find he "resides" in Holland, for tax purposes !

So Brazil, Lebanon &France were previous.

If he had been Japanese he would have held a press conference, apologized and bowed. At worst, he might have lost his job.

JimiToday  12:06 am JST

Not sure why they need masks to escort the man out of the building. They are obsessed with covering their faces, hiding things, and what others think of them.

exactly, bunch of cowards, they threw him in jail on trumped up charges and cant even show their faces... I really do hope Goshn nails them all, takes the case to the UN and shames up the disgraceful justice system in Japan.

No, no, no. It's because of sever hay fever.

Ghosn has 50% chance to win, that is my prediction.

Yubaru

Many cases never even get that far, even after long periods of detention, because the cops can not secure a confession or they dont have enough actual evidence to convict.

The high proportion of cases that go to court based on only a confession is worrisome.

When interrogators question suspects, they should be required have the whole thing recorded. Because we know that many times prosecutors do not have enough evidence and rely on coerced confessions.

Francois Zimeray, the lawyer for Ghosn's family members, turns out to be a man who knew which buttons to push. Smart move on his part to have the Ghosns go to the United Nations' Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and submit a document complaining about Carlos' treatment. That got the attention of Japanese authorities in a hurry.

I would like to have thought that the decision was made by a judge who actually knew what their role was, to uphold rule of law. Surely somewhere in Japan one or two proper judges do exist who operate without a rubber stamp.

But sadly, I think the above comment is correct. Involving the UN soon put things into action.

Well. Now that the UN does have the dossier I hope they examine prisons, immigration detention centre, refugees, asylum seekers, in fact the whole MOJ in Japan.

They dressed him up and paraded him in front of the press like a remorseful criminal ashamed to show his face. The “games” Japan plays with the reputations of the accused are absurd. Absolutely absurd.

This is actually enough to control Nissan. Also another point is that since Renault owns 43% of Nissan, it has already indirect control of the Renault-Nissan group.

Not in reality, with only two board members on the board of Nissan, Renault does not have enough votes to take control, even though they are the majority stock holder.

But Renault owns also a direct 50% of it which means that juridically it controls 100% of it. So Renault has full control here.

This makes ZERO sense, It is publicly known that Renault only holds 43% of Nissan stock, where in the world you pulled this number from only you know. IF Renault held 50.1% of the stock they would control Nissan in it's entirety, the board would be controlled by Renault.

SO where ever you got this idea that Renault controls Nissan is fantasy in reality. Consider what you wrote again, if Renault had full control, this issue with Ghosn would probably never have made the news, it would have been handled internally!

bunch of cowards, they threw him in jail on trumped up charges and cant even show their faces... 

The people in the photo escorting him out of the building are not the people who threw him in prison, they’re just employees doing their job. The people who threw him in prison don’t hide their faces with masks,they just stay in their offices.

Let the Games begin. This is going to be a very interesting movie for sure!

I was just thinking, this is a high profile case in Japan and possibly back in France, I am wondering how has this affected car sales? in Japan and France? do people agree with the prosecutors and not buy a certain car or do they buy one out of support? I would like to see the sales spread sheets to see.