Mark Harris comments

I believe a global economic reset is imminent. All economies except for China are having a very rough time.

Japan's economy IMHO cannot sustain this with the grey demographic swelling to bursting, suppressed demand for Japanese goods, woeful food security & domestic food production about to fall off a cliff from its already feeble approximately 25% - this translating to high levels of food imports/outgoings.

Not to mention the electronics industry being a mere shadow of the juggernaut it once was and China & Korea doing their best to take more market share of the auto industry. Ship manufacturing and steel have already sailed it seems.

This is a perfect economic storm the likes of which Japan has NEVER seen.

That all said, fear not! Japan historically, only makes significant changes when struck by disaster and hardship and it is looking like not only Japan, but globally, a good, much needed dose of change is en route.

Buckle up people - this might get a bit bumpy.

If the charges against Ghosn are legitimate, then there is no problem with having them heard in a neutral Court where there are no claims of "injustice". This would clearly allow due process in a fair & reasonable manner.

Those opposed to this clearly doubt the legitimacy of the charges, evidence, or the alleged crime itself.

The reason such an impartial strategy has not been employed as what would be found is that both Nissan company culture, nearly every other executive, perhaps Ghosn, and now the "justice system" would ALL be found to have a part in any shortcomings and be in need of improvements & change. There would be a LOT of public & international embarrassment of Nissan, the justice system, & (unfortunately) Japan itself...but in pursuing Ghosn, Nissan & the justice system (& thus Japan), are embarrassing themselves further. They should just flush the case as it is not worth the pain, embarrassment, & woeful damage it is causing to Japan as a modern, fair, & democratic country. They really are doing FAR more damage that they realise as the whole world is watching this vindictive & farsical fiasco.

I totally understand the desire for Nissan to remain under Japanese control, however the way the went about it was totally unacceptable, corrupt, & has & will continue to embarrass Japan, it's legal system, & Nissan for decades to come. This will only become worse the longer this charade with Greg Kelly etc, as well as the ongoing futile pursuit of Ghosn.

"Biden administration" - come on! It doesn't exist yet if ever. You just further degraded this already struggling article with U.S. leftist propaganda - Goebbels would be proud!

Nissan just needs to cease making false accusations & embarrassing themselves & Japan, & start making great cars again like they used to in the late 80s & 90s.

Wake up Nissan!

If there is concern about the illegitimacy of the legal system, then the trail should be conducted in an independent country, consistent with Japanese law, & let both sides make their case. That said, those that were allegedly conspiring to pay Ghosn in "alternative" ways should ALL be subject to the same treatment as Kelly unless they disagreed and extracted themselves from the process.

They were ALL part of the management structure and to a greater or lesser degree, are ALL responsible & involved!

If they thought what was happening was illegal or untoward, they could have reported it or removed themselves - which none did.

It is unreasonable to suggest that two foreigners (one who rescued Nissan and spent 17 years as a rock-star in Japan), could act alone and without any knowledge or participation by Japanese members of staff. Therefore, either both If there is concern about the illegitimacy of the legal system, then the trail should be conducted in an independent country, consistent with Japanese law, & let both sides make their case. That said, those that were allegedly conspiring to pay Ghosn in "alternative" ways should ALL be subject to the same treatment as Kelly unless they disagreed and extracted themselves from the process.

They were ALL part of the management structure and to a greater or lesser degree, are ALL responsible & involved!

If they thought what was happening was illegal or untoward, they could have reported it or removed themselves - which none did.

Either the foreigners & their Japanese colleagues are guilty, or the foreigners and Japanese colleagues are NOT guilty. It cannot be both ways.

Without foreign experience, leadership/coaching, & foreign talent, Japan would probably occupy one of the wooden spoon positions on the ladder - where would their beloved "high pride" be then?

Until these backward clowns that make these idiot rules are replaced with wiser heads, sport, food security, the labour market, & the economy will continue the languish as it is the same source for all of these problems.

This trouble with rugby is just another manifestation of this widespread high pride & stupidity.

Apparently it is easier to dream of enslaving others than engaging in meaningful policy & initiatives to shape domestic policy & culture & solve your own problems with your own intelligence & sweat off your own (Japanese) brow.

There a very strong, very negative culture of power-over-others in Japan - the whole sempai/kohai dynamic is one of power abuse, domination, submission & slavery. It is one of the things that makes Japan what it is, & is also one of the things that holds Japan back.

Not for a moment am I suggesting that Japan should be like another country, but rather, the use & abuse of power over others, needs to stop.

A lack of children & population critical mass will (and is) destroy a culture more surely & thoroughly than any bomb or foreign power.

In this case, recalcitrant stupidity is the enemy, and it is defeating Japanese culture with moronic decisions like this.

Just wait another five years when the aged farmers exit the labour market & domestic production of fruit & veg plummets, prices skyrocket, & Japanese labour becomes harder to hire & more discerning & demanding - then these clowns will really have something to squeal about.

Good luck to this "Canadian" dad that has given his entire working life to Japan. I hope he has HUGE win on behalf of all the Japanese parents who have been rogered by this kind of idiocy in the past.

50 years of successive governments doing near nothing to correct plummeting birthrates & an a woefully unbalanced labour market are coming home to roost, by the boomers & aged enslaving younger generations with absurd financial burdens they have no hope of paying.

Furthermore, they will brazenly flog foreigners with another thinly-veiled tax gouging chance like nenkin as mentioned by others, & resist ever providing it to those that stay & keep most of it for those that leave.

Expect at least another two x 2% increases in the next decade or so, & also expect a severe price spike in domestic produce as the old farmers age out of farming, with no-one left to replace them.

Birthrate adjustment? Epic FAIL

Food security? 73% in 1970 & around 25% now. Soon to be 10%? Epic FAIL!

Radical policy change to address huge structural & policy problems? I like Abe, but many others seem to do little more than keep the seat warm while Japan slides into oblivion... perhaps we should let a few foreigners in (that we can control) for a limited time on slave visas so that they can do the dirty work we are too precious to do - things like food production & caring for the old buggers that allowed these perfectly preventable, slow moving, & highly visible national disasters from occuring in the first place!

I do love Japan, but decades of government have failed in the most fundamental ways on THE most critical issues!!!

@ Melissa Shimosato.

If they can be found on Alibaba, then order cartons of them and sell them at a reasonable price to parents. That will upset those with a gouging vested interest and help other parents at the same time.

Could be a winner!

What? They could not predict that with two continental plates meeting off the coast & tremors (or worse) nearly every day in Tohoku, that there WAS going to be a tsunami etc? It was only ever going to be a matter of time.

The bottom line is they got caught not doing their jobs property but poncing around thinking they were something special.

There should be NO uranium reactors in such a geologically active country like Japan as it is too dangerous. Those that permitted the reactors in the first place are the real culprits as they should never have been there. Yes these execs did not do what was required. Indeed, no-one tapped them on the shoulder & provided an exact date & time, but anyone with a brain in Tohoku more than a week could tell you it was inevitable.

This is what Japan should have developed & built instead of 50+ Uranium reactors (that can spiral out of control) on top of three tectonic plates in one of the most geologically active places in the world.

http://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Molten-salt-irradiation-test-completed-at-Petten

Obviously the work of some cowardly thugs...oh he was where?

South Korea & Japan would do better to work together in industry & enjoy some regional sporting events, rather than this carry-on.

The past is regrettable in some instances, but there is no need to ruin every moment thereafter.

Let's move forward people.

I have seen old people pay as little as 78yen to visit a doctor at a hospital while the rest of us pay a LOT more.

They grizzle about foreigners, but the financial burden is a result of absurd, unfair, & financially irresponsible domestic health care policy for the aged.