Tokyo court approves detention of ex-Nissan boss Ghosn until Jan 11

Kono will try to save some face by trying to make a deal on the sidelines of next weeks meeting in France but it will fail. Just digging a deeper whole, good be him his day we n court!!!!

Give him his day in court. Whoops

They are literally trying to bury Ghosn!

I'm honestly surprised they are keeping him from using pen / paper. I suspect there will be more than one lawsuit filed on behalf of Ghosn after his release.

his cell is unheated

It is heated.

He has been denied pen and paper

Detainees are not denied pen and paper.

 and has lost weight

and is fit.

I wonder how long it will be till they stop reporting his extension of dentention

Tokyo court approves detention of ex-Nissan boss Ghosn until Jan 11

How predictable.

Caroline Ghosn: “He’s not a terrorist. He’s not El Chapo.”

By "a norm in Japan" , may I assume this also means . " as the law in Japan states". Does anyone know if this is in fact the law in Japan. to interrogate without a lawyer present?

I suppose it is how Article 34 of the Japanese constitutional is being interpreted. Everybody does have the right to silence.

@tinawatanabe - try reading other articles on this story. His cell is not heated, as there have been several complaints about the cold.

and is fit.

I assume that Tina is a doctor.

japanese detention centers routinely restrict access to pens and may restrict access to paper depending on the person.

cells are not heated. blocks of cells are heated but all detention centers in japan are built in the same way, a + shaped building with cells on the inside and two corridors for guards, one in front and one behind the cells. those areas are heated.

i don't know why ghosn doesn't just use his money to bust out and leave. he is never going to receive justice in japan.

Very corrupt SK leaders in prison, very corrupt Nissan/Mitsubishi CEO in prison, Abe and Akie flying around the world in luxury. With pens and air con. Everybody should be treated equal.

Belrick,   It is heated.  You would be frozen if not.

@Osaka_Doug

Does anyone know if this is in fact the law in Japan. to interrogate without a lawyer present?

I think it's more the lack of a law requiring the presence of a lawyer.

There was an interesting article about this is in the Asahi Shimbun yesterday. The article reported that the US introduced a law in the 1970s to consider confessions where there was no lawyer present to be unsound (such that a court would dismiss them). The article also made the point that the norm in many countries is for the prosecution and defence to be equally weighted (implying that it is not so in Japan). According to the article, there were discussions in Japan to introduce a similar system, but there was opposition prosecutors; they said that the presence of lawyers might hamper the task of 'finding the truth'.

But the task of the prosecution is not to 'determine the truth'; that's the role of the trial. The prosecution's job should simply be to present a case for their side of the story while the defence does the same, and according to the principle of innocent until proved guilty, the prosecution should certainly not be advantaged over the defence.

I've yet to hear a convincing argument for not allowing lawyers to attend interviews.

@Ascissor

However, the prosecution are advantaged over the defense as they are able to decide which evidence should be presented in court and hide evidence that may exonerate the suspect.

I've yet to hear a convincing argument for not allowing lawyers to attend interviews.

youve got experinced prosecutors , interrogating inexperienced accussed, lawyers present make it difficult for the prosecutors to abuse their powers, which has clearly happened in the past

Let's get this straight for the likes of Tina Watanabe and others. During detention in a Japanese prison awaiting trial you are not allowed visitors. The only person you can speak with is your lawyer. The police and prosecutors can interrogate you without your lawyer present and they can do it at 3am if they so please. Your lawyer's visits are restricted to 30 minutes per day. You are not allowed any electronic devices, laptops, cell phone, televisions, etc. The cells are not heated although, the building is heated and extra blankets and clothing can be provided by via your lawyer. Any communications with the outside world must go through your lawyer and in the presence of either a prosecuting lawyer or police. This is how a prisoner gets treated in Japan without a conviction. You are guilty until proven innocent. It should be no surprise there are so many confessions among Japanese crims although, many are false due to the harsh conditions of detention.

I can't wait until he is let out. The international media are gonna have a field day tearing strips of this ridiculous and inhumane detention system.

So the photo of the flying pigeons symbolizes the reason Ghosn is being held in detention because he is a flight risk?

Well, he deserves what he deserves. And looking at these triggered commentators here make his detention even more satisfiable.

A primitive, backward and inherently unjust legal system. We rightly criticise other countries with such inadequate judicial procedures and lack of human rights but Japan seems to have been ignored until now. This internationally high profile case is going to drag all that in to the daylight of world scrutiny. I wonder how the Japanese elite are going to feel being compared to the likes of China and Saudi Arabia and other backward and oppressive societies?

A basic right of any minimally adequate judicial system is that the accused is innocent until proven guilty and that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done, which as is becoming evident through the international reporting of this case, is obviously not the case in Japan.

any confession will have been done under duress and can be instantly discounted. But that's the system he is trapped in.

Well, he deserves what he deserves. And looking at these triggered commentators here make his detention even more satisfiable.

What he "deserves" should be decided by a court that has properly weighed the evidence.

However, until found guilty he should be innocent in the eyes of the law and treated with respect, not as a guilty man.

japanese detention centers routinely restrict access to pens and may restrict access to paper depending on the person.

So when he can get his pen and papers? By the time he agreed to write and sign confession?

any confession will have been done under duress and can be instantly discounted. But that's the system he is trapped in.

It's a system that will lead a person to confess whatever they being forced to.

His daughter says that he's cold and lost weight. He's in jail and most people know without having been in one that it's uncomfortable. Mr Ghosn should have thought about the possible consequences before he became involved in this seemingly complicated financial mess. He may be spending a lot more time in there. There's reportedly a lot of money involved so he would surely be willing to put up with a bit of discomfort in an effort to clear his name. Judging by the opinions of the Court Of Public Opinion he is innocent of all charges so he will come out of it without a stain on his pinny.

Regardless whether he's guilty or not, the way that his case is being handled isn't very good, makes you start to think about all those Japanese horror stories of detention, and forced confessions.

Belrick,   It is heated. You would be frozen if not.

Do you think the authorities give a crap if you're cold in prison? No they don't. There is no heating in the cells!

And come 10 Jan, there'll be another charge against Ghosn. This is getting so obvious.

Kosuge Detention House is called in other words "substitute prison." Anyone who got in the hands of Tokyo District Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Team is out. Ex prime minister of Japan Kakuei Tanaka was investigated in the Lockheed scandal and the court battle continued until his death.

The rest of the world doesn't care if a man with hundreds of millions of dollars has heating in his cell. A record 30 million foreigners will visit Japan in 2019.

In Japan, motto is - Do the crime, do the time.

Nissan will be going under for how they handled Ghosn.

This is absolute nonsense. This is 120% abuse of human rights. Carlos have to go to court, why are the prosecutors not allowing this ???, the court not allowing this, Which parties are taking bribes from saikawa of Nissan Japan ???. All foreigners , pls stop helping Japanese or any Japanese companies that need help. We can see clearly that Japanese are only using foreign people. Once we are of no use to them, this is what Happened, Carlos case is a very good example for all to see even my Japanese husband is ashamed. down with Nissan Japan , all good Japanese are ashamed.

Anyone who got in the hands of Tokyo District Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Team is out.

Maybe Tokyo District Prosecutors Office should renamed to "New Kenpeitai Headquarters".

Clearly, the courts in Japan are useless.

In Japan, motto is - Do the crime, do the time.

By that statement most of corporate Japan and goverment should be behind bars then......

Kinda tragic that Japanese Courts convene on public days of celebration like Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, yup the whole handling has been sad.

I agree with a poster above. Use your wealth, get a team together to break yourself out of this prison hell and out of this “country” You have no hope here in Japan as a foreigner. As others have said where are all the Japanese criminal CEOs?? Which prison are they in?? Ha ha ha.

No matter what the answers are about the real economic motivations (for Nissan interests) by keeping Ghosn as long as possible, and no matter what the weekly renewing of accusations to justify Ghosn detention , there is one thing that's concretly sure is that the Japanese judicial system is among the most medieval system of our planet.

Ghosn san, please hang in there, they are using dirty manipulative tricks as you did nothing wrong. 2019 come out fighting, people who make other suffer. Will suffer double in the near future, it's karma.

As I stated before, there needs to be an organized peaceful protest outside this prison, people living here, please spread the word and let's organize a protest outside this prison. To show the world, Japan needs to change the judicial system. This does not happen to old CEO's of scandals here doing fake bows and apologies. This man is innocent, please spread the word and also email foreign press companies to show this more on the International stage. So far a few outlets have seen the truth, WSJ and a few others. The local propaganda here is very negative, hence why we need the foreign press emailed more on the truth and full explanation

I know this is not the objective of the prosecutors, but by repeatedly petitioning to keep Ghosn in unconvicted detention for so long they've done a great job of getting non-rich people to actually feel sorry for a guy who until November was viewed by most people as just another arrogant, conceited, obscenely overpaid corporate high-flyer.

At this point, I won't be surprised if a bunch of English teachers, restaurant dishwashers from Burma, and convenience store cashiers from Vietnam gather in front of a luxury apartment tower in Hiroo or Azabu-Juban and hold up signs saying "We support you, expat bankers and executives."

Look, its plain and simple. A Company has accused an employee of a crime, yet the crime is dubious since there is not direct evidence of such, and the risk of his flight is great, so they have involved the Police rather than putting him on Gardening leave. By doing so, the Company has shown that they have Political leverage in order to be able to do just this. So.... a good investigative Journalist will probably want to unravel this all, and find out how exactly it all worked - who pulled which strings with whom and why. Unfortunately for the company concerned, nothing has so far stuck legally, so they need to find something that will, hence the fishing exercise by prolonging the employees detention, but by doing so, those others involved are risking their careers and making this whole affair even the more interesting to an investigative Journalist willing to push the boundaries and find out what really went on to make this situation happen in the way that it has. There is potential for this situation to bring down the Government, or... more.

I just hope that those responsible remember that what goes around comes around. It’s not about money. It’s a power play and the new head of Nissan will be proven to be behind this.

And...that said, if there is no Journalistic follow through... then what does that say about Japan now-a-days ?

Perhaps the new State Security Laws are being put into action making it similar to China ?

Well, he deserves what he deserves.

well he deserves nothing then , becuase he hasnt even been convicted of anything yet, ( only acusations )cant even defend himself in court yet.

And looking at these triggered commentators here make his detention even more satisfiable.

so you feel satisfiable/ satisfied because people criticize a legal system that clearly gives the prosecutors unfair favorable conditions to do their jobs over the defence, 99% conviction rate has nothing to do with false confessions and everything to do with Japans superior intelligence and investigating techniques, many of those techniques originating outside of Japan. and these same people still get offended when other say there is serious lack of common sense in this country. Luckily butthurt isnt evidence of a person guilt.

So, we should all write down our predictions on the following:

-- Whether the court permits an extension of Ghosn's detention on the current charges beyond January 11th.

-- Whether the police / inquisitors file "new" charges before the 11th to reset the clock on being able to continue to detain him.

Because we all know the prosecutors will look to extend detention by any and all means possible.

My prediction??

-- The court will NOT approve an extension of the detention on the current charges.

-- The prosecutors WILL file new charges prior to the 11th. The charge? Being a foreigner running a "Japanese" company.

In all seriousness, I am pretty sure that Ghosn's detention will be extended beyond January 11th. Well, unless the French government intervenes!

to Tinawatanabe, the guy rescue Nissan of disappearing from this world and the Japanese treating him like a a garbage instead of being rewarded and rewarded in a very big way.

Very disappointed with Nissan Board especially the CEO. This is made me believe to never trust the Japanese.

Shame on you Nissan.

detention just keep prolonging, unbelievable. don't even care this open to worldwide.

what is the meaning of shame????

thought at the beginning he may be guilty, but is cleared out by the drama from nissan and prosecutors.

most-likely he is being set up.

He probably just used "Nissan" in a guarantor fashion, and as we all know shares went back up after the greed of the American mortgage lenders almost collapsed the World Economy got bailed out by the "rest of the free World", Nissans credit rating improved, enabling the future expansion . . its almost as if who's ever pushing the Prosecutors doesn't understand the big picture, and Carlos Ghosn is just the meat in the sandwich !

"This man is innocent, "

Doesn't sound like he's innocent to me. He used Nissan as his own piggy bank.

And...that said, if there is no Journalistic follow through... then what does that say about Japan now-a-days ?

Doesn't say anything because there has been immense journalistic follow through in Japanese. Some of the articles written by Japanese legal experts have been quite critical of the allegations made against Ghosn. Japanese articles also often ask "where was Saikawa when all this was allegedly going on?"

makes you start to think about all those Japanese horror stories of detention, and forced confessions.

Sounds a lot like internment, which is not just confined to Japan.

Although, I'm a lot less sympathetic to alleged corporate criminals.

The Japanese "justice" system hard at work. What a joke.

Hold out, Ghosn! Don't give them the confession they are trying to wring out if you. Make the Japanese understand just how a justice system is supposed to work.

Man talk about a bad holidays. Guess no holiday weight gain to worry about though? Hope to be able to hear his side of the story at some point. Then let the guy go get a steak and get to the bottom of this once and for all.