Carlos Ghosn Photo: AP file
crime

Ghosn announces news conference, then cancels it

27 Comments
By Yuri Kageyama

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27 Comments
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Prosecutors say the restriction is needed to prevent evidence tampering. He is not restricted in interacting with his children or other family members.

And the prosecutors are idiots if they think he can not communicate with his wife, through his own children and family if he so desires!

7 ( +11 / -4 )

.

And the prosecutors are idiots if they think he can not communicate with his wife, through his own children and family if he so desires!

.

The Prosecution is not as simplistic as that !

The order is symbolic - and lets Carole know her place..

Ghosn committed serious offenses in Japan and abroad .

Tampering with evidence while globetrotting and perseverating in an obviously fatuous mantra of defense makes her a risk.

.

-16 ( +8 / -24 )

Expect further farcical developments as prosecutors scramble to justify their obscene misuse of power, done on behalf of a "company!" If they have in all this time not got their case together there is no case, this vindictive (can not see wife but kids are ok) it's to punish him with no trail because he didn't, won't confess. Making them feel inept and childish.

3 ( +10 / -7 )

The conditions for Ghosn's release on bail include forbidding contact with his wife Carole Ghosn, who has spoken out about Japan's justice system. She and her husband's lawyers have criticized the restriction as a violation of human rights.

It is of course. Just imagine if this happened to a Japanese national in France. Japan would be screaming from the rooftops

Prosecutors say the restriction is needed to prevent evidence tampering.

Horse manure.

He is not restricted in interacting with his children or other family members.

How charitable.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

Ghosn's departure has raised questions about the stability of Nissan's relationship with French alliance partner Renault, which owns 43% of Nissan.

Well since Ghosn gone, the alliance is talking about a new Lancer Evolution using Mitsubishi drivetrain and Renault performance engine. It will sell like hot cakes, if Mitsubishi can deal with total group carbon emission rules in EU.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

"Just imagine if this happened to a Japanese national in France. Japan would be screaming from the rooftops"

No it would not. Japan would respect French law and ,as in this case, France must respect Japanese law.

-1 ( +13 / -14 )

Frankly speaking , Ghosn's PR play was stupid. The world is focus on the Trump-Xi meeting on Saturday. He would have received minimal coverage at best.

3 ( +10 / -7 )

@semperfi - Ghosn committed serious offenses in Japan and abroad

Correction: Ghosn ‘is accused of’ using company funds for his own gains, which should have been dealt with internally by Nissan. He should never have been arrested in the first place.

This situation of being banned from seeing Ewing his wife for fear of evidence tampering is complete malarkey. These so-called ‘prosecutors’ should have gathered their evidence before his arrest. How can anybody be accused of a crime and arrested without any evidence? This is where the Japanese injustice system really shines. You are guilty without any evidence and have to prove your innocence. This is the epitome of a kangaroo court system. It is not a modern democratic legal system.

8 ( +14 / -6 )

No it would not. Japan would respect French law

and ,as in this case, France must respect Japanese law.

As long as Japan respects international law which is something ALL countries MUST respect.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

Correction: Ghosn ‘is accused of’ using company funds for his own gains, which should have been dealt with internally by Nissan. He should never have been arrested in the first place.

With suspicion of special breach of trust, on top of charges of falsifying financial documents, why should it have been dealt with internally by Nissan?

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

No it would not. Japan would respect French law

Only because Japan knows that any Japanese detainee in France would have their human rights protected

2 ( +11 / -9 )

Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn canceled his news conference planned for Friday within hours of its announcement, citing opposition from his family and media adviser.

What a guy, if he really wants to make someone hear his case and let people from the other countries know about so called inhumane Japanese justice system that's the best time, G20 is here.

You are not going to get a second chance, after G20 is over your conference announcements will give reason to prosecutors to lock you up.

Anyway we all know the verdict already.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

As it was a news conference he would have been asked a lot of questions. Talking about the case so publicly when the matter is still "before the courts" could well have jeopardised his defence.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

A news conference would have made the Japanese injustice system out to be the childish bully and joke that it is. The child bullies running the system at least have the political savvy to realize that. They can dish out the heat but they cannot take it themselves. And so he surely would have just gotten in trouble with them whether he could actually do the conference or was arrested before he could.

I really cannot see what good it would have accomplished for him. Its not like the people of this country would wake up to the travesty and protest so hard those clowns would actually become so fearful they decide they better do actual justice this time. The only good I can see would be for everyone else, as it might plant a seed of much needed mistrust of authority in this country where most think suspected equals guilty.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

With suspicion of special breach of trust, on top of charges of falsifying financial documents, why should it have been dealt with internally by Nissan?

You should ask Saikawa, who was falsifying financial documents.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

You should ask Saikawa, who was falsifying financial documents.

Whatever Saikawa has done or not done, irrelevant to my question. How could anyone possibly support the claim (Should have been dealt with internally) for the possible criminal offense case

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Canceling the press conference was a smart play by Ghosn.

It doesn't matter what we think about the Japanese justice system or the process he is going through, at the end of the day, he will still have to go through it. However, continuously antagonizing the system will only make things harder for you.

Purposely antagonizing them will only end in him being remanded back to prison and having even more rights rescinded.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

JJ - "..Purposely antagonizing them will only end in him being remanded back to prison and having even more rights rescinded..."

Yes - I can only assume his thinking was to get the maximum press coverage in the English speaking world, by coinciding his conference with the G-20. With 1,000s of press corps assembled, anything out of the Foreign Correspondence Club in English would have attracted attention.

This would have been a spit in the eye to Japan Inc and Abe at this most public of moments.

Heavy pressure on family & lawyers to get him to change his mind.

The only other time he was "going on air" was the morning he was arrested again. In that case he was to appear on a live video conference with US tv @ 6:00am. Strangely less than 10 mins before 6:00, his house was "raided", his wife harrassed and he was taken into custody.

Coincidence - Not.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@showchinmono - How could anyone possibly support the claim (Should have been dealt with internally) for the possible criminal offense case

You've answered your own question with one word, 'possible'. An internal investigation should have been conducted to provide the evidence of wrongdoing before the police were contacted. Ghosn has been arrested on nothing more than outlandish accusations by cowardly weasels in a corporate coupe. He has been arrested, incarcerated, bailed and had his civil liberties removed on accusations that have yet to be proven. Furthermore, the accusations are so vague it will take at least a year to prepare a case against him, while his life is in the toilet. It is an extremely childish situation resembling an elementary school dobber making up stories to the teacher because somebody got a bigger lunch than he did.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

DisillusionedToday  01:31 pm JST

@showchinmono - How could anyone possibly support the claim (Should have been dealt with internally) for the possible criminal offense case

You've answered your own question with one word, 'possible'. An internal investigation should have been conducted to provide the evidence of wrongdoing before the police were contacted. 

That's how this happened. Internal investigation took place for months, or over a year ( according to American media Bloomberg) before the police were contacted.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

THE FRENCH WANNABE PRESIDENT, GHOSN PERSONAL ENNEMY IS IN JAPAN

°

He just wanted to put pressure on Macron. He is an expert on macro-mistakes deals.

This conference was for Ghosn to speak about secret too if Macron didn't helped him during his travel. Since Macron helped a french dad calling him to get back his kidnapped kid after beating his Japanese wife and harassing her, it shows the level of the wannabe-president. I don't believe in symbol for him, or positive "grand blond" mistakes. He is a walking nightmare without any positive outcome possible in my country.

So, it was blunt blackmailing on a world president. French dumb and dumber are in Japan. We are so sorry for Japan and the world. But we share the terrible time too - he is destroying a one century republic nuclear science for a religious pass out science.

*For the sake of history : **Macron should have protected Ghosn from the beginning but he didn't. And by doing so, he put France technology and industrial secrets at risk. Both men had a huge fall out in the past, but international law is for Embassy to take the prisoner - enterprise head - in and allow discussion under proper french watching. *

Normally, this is a diplomacy matter and not a penal matter. Ghosn should have just lost his rights to touch Japan directly or indirectly. But in France, a Republic, with power separation for the people safety against rich, political and religious powers, it has to be commanded by the French Republic President level. Macron didn't do his job well (again) and it became this public mess (another one on him).

But Ghosn support him for his incompetence during election so this is right he personally paid his moral corruption.

°

NadAge

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

An incomplete article, which triggers a huge bunch of wrong assumptions.

According to his lawyers he wanted to make a press conference right after his request to being allowed to contact his wife was rejected. To talk about this topic and nothing else.

Apparently his daughters persuaded him not to do it to avoid further retaliations by the Japanese justice system.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

So, tired of Ghosn's drama. He's convinced he should be treated differently only because of his wealth but he's just another criminal. A white collar criminal, but still a criminal.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Ghosn clearly thinks the world revolves around him. Friday night is not good timing for a press conference. You want to do these early in the week to get maximum attention. Further, this particular Friday was singularly bad since a large fraction of the reporters who might cover his press conference were in Osaka for the G-20 conference.

If nothing else, he needs better advice on PR.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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