Tango2179 comments

@Richard Gallagher,

Where are you getting your information? The SEC charged Ghosn and Kelley based on information presented to them that was provided by NISSAN. If that doesn't look like a setup from the beginning, I don't know what does.

Also, the US does not have 15,000,000 prosecutors based on information I can find. There are a total of 1.3mil total attorneys for the whole US. That includes both prosecutors and defense attorneys.

This whole ordeal was a set up from the beginning. According to the New York Times, the SEC opened its inquiry in response to charges brought by the Japanese prosecutors. I believe that Nissan did this as a precursor to having Ghosn and Kelly removed. Make them look bad with the SEC first which in turn would make them look guilty to everyone else, making them look like criminals and easier to remove. Nissan removed its top lawyer because he saw conflict of interest issues, Hari Nada doing potentially illegal things, like hacking Ghosn's email account (he got immunity along with other assoicates, what do you need that for unless your doing something dirty?) Hiroto Saikawa was caught doing the same things Ghosn and Kelly were accused of. He just said sorry and bowed, all was forgiven and forgotten. You have foreigners who cant read or write Japanese, but are accused of being the masterminds behind some huge plot in a Japanese company, which probably keeps records of EVERYTHING. I ain't buying it. Ghosn may be guilty of some things, but I doubt he did all he has been accused of.

They are playing the game. The same game rich and connected Japanese businessmen/politicians play. Say your sorry and bow. Act very remorseful. Doesn't actually mean he is sorry or remorseful. Special Forces guys, both active and retired are smart, hard individuals. They need to be considering the missions they have to undertake. They aren't going to crack because of some pushy lawyer or interrogator. Considering Taylors past, he knows what he is doing and was most likely instructed by his lawyers to say what he did to lessen whatever sentence is given him.

@Sven Asai,

If I remember correctly, she won't get any of the money he left. According to his will, the money was supposed to be given to the city. His family is fighting the will, saying he didn't write it himself. I could be wrong but thought it was mentioned in a previous article that is no longer available.

@ ian,

Please do some research. He didn't abandon any previous "ship". He actually saved part of one (Michelin) he was working for before Renault. He worked for Michelin from 1978-1996, when he was offered a position at Renault. If you read his work history, you would know that he stays with a company even when its doing bad. I don't know the man, and I'm not a supporter. My feelings on the matter are that all people should be given a fair chance and not accused of something they may or may not have done without proof and actual evidence. If the man says he is innocent, I give him the benefit of the doubt and allow the prosecutors to actually prove his guilt by providing real evidence.

@ian,

Please Google it. There are plenty of articles about the offer from Steven Rattner being double what he was making in 2009. Carlos declined the offer due to his loyalty to Renault and Nissan. By my calculation, he was making roughly $10mil+ a year from Renault-Nissan at that time. If he was all about making himself richer, it was dumb for him to decline it. If he had of taken it, he might not be in the situation he is now.

@Paul,

Are you serious? Stealing more? IF all he wanted was more money, he would have taken the offer by the Obama administration to head GM in 2009, where he would have gotten double what he was making before he took the pay cut. He himself even said he regrets not taking the offer considering what he is going through now. He may be guilty or he may not be. I personally don't believe he is guilty based of what I have read about him and the case. Do I think he is a perfect angel? No. If he is guilty of any of what has been said, then he should face the consequences. But spreading misinformation is not right either and there seems to be a lot of it going around. I see a lot of internet lawyers here who automatically assume someone is guilty just because you read somewhere that they were.

@Jind,

Abortions have been and are legal in Japan since 1949. Japanese doctors, as far as I'm aware, can provide the morning after pill (had to ask my wife) just in case mistakes happen.

But to go through an entire pregnancy, give birth, and then kill the child is not an accident or mistake. Its murder and by what she told the police about not wanting other people to know, is hard to comprehend. During the entire pregnancy, she never went to the doctor? Never told her boyfriend? No one noticed her body changing? Never asked for easier shifts at work due to stresses on her body? So many questions could be asked.

@ Toasted Heretic,

That's why I said "In my opinion".

You are right though about not knowing the mental state of the parents. But this statement,

Police quoted the mother as saying, “I didn’t want people to know that I gave birth to a baby.”, gives me a pretty good indication. She was more worried about what others might think than the life of the child.

This makes me sick. In my opinion, it should be a life for a life. If you kill a child on purpose, your life becomes forfeit. It would be different if you are a woman who was raped and became pregnant or due to medical reasons. Other than that, I don't see any other acceptable reason to kill a child, especially after that child has been born. Children have no say about coming into this world and definitely cannot defend themselves. 19 years old and doesn't realize you could get pregnant by having unprotected sex? Stupid.

It blows my mind to see downvotes on some of these comments. I have 3 children and just looking at them brings me joy. Yes, life is hard and stressful, but there are avenues you can take to get help. It makes me sick to my stomach to see stories like this. Even more so when someone posts a true comment such as what KansaiTen posted and it receives negative reviews. Makes me wonder if those downvoters think killing your children is ok. If you think life is so difficult and you cant make it through it, then fine. If you don't want to seek help, fine. But don't kill your children who haven't done anything wrong. It makes you a coward for not seeking help and a p***y for taking the easy way out. I'm sure Ill be downvoted for this comment, but I don't care. My life hasn't been easy. I've experienced abandonment and abuse, both physical and psychological, and never once have a I thought about killing myself or someone else. My goal is to make my life better and ensure my children never experience what I experienced growing up.

Should just flush his ashes down the toilet and be done with it.

All relates to the GroupThink mentality.

You must all look the same, act the same, say the same things, etc or you will be shunned.

I can understand having guidelines so no child is treated differently, but saying what color underwear a child should wear is severely pushing it. Growing up, I went to a couple of schools that required uniforms, but there was never any rules about the color of underwear. Come on Japan, stop trying to control every aspect of a childs life, let them have some individuality.

If someone here is personally or has/had a relative or friend that is/was being charged with a crime, wouldnt you want to see all the evidence before assuming their guilt? I know I would. I wouldnt follow the mindset that they are guilty just because they were arrested or someone said they were.

@P.Smith, that is true. I have heard this from several Japanese acquaintances.

The Japanese seem to have a groupthink mentality. They are sheeples. If someone in power says something is "this way", then that's how it is. They seem to follow blindly. Just because someone says someone else did something wrong/illegal, doesn't actually make it so. If there is proof to back up that theory, then that is different. I stated this before on a previous article. If Ghosn is found guilty, via a thorough, and proper investigation and there is hard evidence to prove his guilt, then he should face the consequences for his actions. But blindly believing someone is guilty because he was arrested and the prosecutors say so, is wrong. IF the prosecutors have all this evidence that proves Ghosn/Kelly's guilt, why has the trial taken so long to start and expected to go on for many months, if not years? Plus, why are only the foreigners being charged again?

Good, I'm glad to hear their cash flow is being impacted. With Japan being a "modern and civilized" nation, I am surprised the Yakuza are still allowed to exist and wander around for as long as they have. The police and government should be doing everything they can to find and arrest all members of the Yakuza.

@nishikat,

The police determined that I was at fault even though they had people tell them it was the other driver.

Is this story real?

-No, I just felt the need to lie. facepalm...Of course it is real. I was making a right hand turn on a green arrow. The Japanese driver coming from the opposite direction did not stop at the red light. He actually tried to drive around me and didn't try stopping. He ended up almost hitting me head on, destroying my car in the process. I'm sure everyone has seen their fair share of incidents like this happening. I see it all the time in my area.

I bought an item online from a Japanse business.

What "item" and what "Japanse (sic) business" specifically?

-This happened a number of years ago so I don't remember the specific business name and the item was nothing illegal or questionable. It was an automotive item that was being sold from a business in Hokkaido. That is all I can recall.

As a foreigner in this country, I feel and know I am obligated to follow the laws in this country. That said, I would hope that the laws here would equally apply to me as they would a local national. However, I have read and had incidents happen that contradict that. To give a couple examples (I can provide more),

I was involved in a car accident (my one and only). The reason for the accident was due to a local national running a red light and hitting my car. I had two people in my vehicle with me at the time. The local police were called and did their on-scene investigation. The police determined that I was at fault even though they had people tell them it was the other driver. Their reasoning, if I had not of been there, the accident wouldn't have happened. Poor logic, and I believe it was because I was a foreigner and the other driver was Japanese.

Second incident had to deal with theft. I bought an item online from a Japanse business. I transferred the money to the indicated account and had all the documentation from the beginning of the transaction to the end. Even email correspondence between me and the other party. The item was never sent to me and the money was never refunded. I went to the local police station to file a complaint. The police gave me the run around about how I needed to properly inform the business owner that I was going to the police to file a complaint by sending them certified documentation that I needed to get from the Post Office. I did as instructed but could never get the required paperwork. The Post Office associates told me they didn't have any documentation like what the police officer indicated. Again, I am assuming the police didn't want to help because I was a foreigner and actually wanted them to do their job.

For the Japanese commenters, can you honestly say that foreigners are treated fairly in this country? I am not trying to nit pick as I want Japan to succeed in all areas. I still see some places locally that have signs, "Japanese Only", even though its supposed to be illegal. The more I read Japanese news, the more I begin to see that higher class Japanese can get away with just about anything, but a foreigner will have everything possible thrown at him/her even if its the same crime.

Also, I am doing a cost average among the people involved. I realize some people will receive more, while others will receive less and I understand that all 11-13 people wont be receiving gifts at the same time. Just the total amount listed of $5700 over 40 occasions didn't seem like much.

Maybe its the wording but it doesn't seem like much of a bribe. Regardless, it was wrong.

A ministry internal investigation found that the ministry officials received dinners and gifts totaling about 600,000 yen ($5,700) on around 40 occasions from 2016 to 2019.

$5,700.00 ÷ 40 occassions = $142.50 ÷ 11 people = $12.95, but

$5,700.,00 X 40 occassions = $228,000 ÷ 11 people = $20,728.00 per person.

Maybe its my math, but I think its more reasonable to assume it was closer to the $20,728.00. $12.95 per person isn't much of a bribe.

Can someone clarify for me?

So many cry babies here. I see posts how national leaders are worthless because they don't take effective enough measures to slow the virus, but when they do, I see nothing but whiny babies. Oh, no, your affecting my personal life., boo hoo. I'm pretty sure national leaders don't look at your individuals rights when they need to make sure the country as a whole survives. I personally hate wearing a mask, but guess what, I do it anyway. Not just to keep myself safer but also to ensure I don't inadvertently pass anything to someone else. Don't be so damn selfish. The are other countries besides Japan that are implementing similar measures.

They are doing it to find out if a program already receives grant money. If they do, then the Education Ministry will pay less or give no money at all. I see it constantly concerning my kids. The human resources office that covers the workers where my wife works constantly want to see my pay statements. If I receive anything extra that covers my children, then the pay my wife receives for them will be reduced or taken away completely. Since I make more money than my wife, my children are not eligible to be covered under her health insurance. To me its all about cutting costs.

I live in Oirase and this occurred just around the corner from my house. I don't know the full situation but I can say this, when the weather starts getting bad, the drivers here get worse. They already run stop lights, stop signs, drive in your lane (because they cant wait), don't follow proper protocol at intersections, etc. I personally believe they know what they are doing because even when they almost cause an accident, they act like they did nothing wrong. You hardly ever see JNP around, and when you do, they aren't doing anything, even when it happens right in front of them. I've been planning on buying a new car this year and this one will have a drive recorder installed just for my safety and insurance purposes.

The little tw@t should have been charged with assault as well. Don’t put your hands on people without reason.

What a joke! 100,000 yen? really?

GOJ needs to find ways to balance the work/personal life. Increase pay to be able to support a family. Decrease the dollar amount that is required to send kids to school. I have have 3 children myself and they go to Japanese schools. The amount needed to pay for schooling/school related activities is not cheap. Add that on top of normal day to day living expenses and people have no money left. Luckily, my wife and I make pretty good money so are able to pay for what is needed, but there are a lot of people who aren't in the same financial position. I know that when my third child was born, my wife was told if we had another child we would receive $500. I almost laughed.

@GdTokyo,

What does that mean exactly?

How many other countries do you know of that you can sneak into illegally, take benefits from that counties own citizens, and still become a citizen?

I cant think of any and I've been to many countries.

I have no problem with immigration. Just do it legally.

@ serendipitous1,

I agree. Unlike some people who have posted here, I don't automatically assume someone's guilt without all the evidence, which no one here has. I don't feel Ghosn used Nissan as a "piggy bank" or dishonestly hid anything. He gave money back for Christ's sake. I base this off what I have read so far, so I could be wrong. If Ghosn was all about making himself richer, why not take the offers from other companies, especially when you're talking millions of dollars more a year. I have spoken with several Japanese acquaintances about this case. Some don't care and others say he has to be guilty because he was arrested. From what I have read, there appears to be preferential treatment for Japanese associates/executives, as none of them are being prosecuted. If any one here believes that Ghosn and Kelly perpetrated these suspected crimes, all by themselves, then you are very closed minded. Close mindedness does not make a problem go away nor does it fix the problem. There is a problem in Nissan that needs to be fixed.

@kniknaknollaer,

Maybe you should go back to school and sit in one of those classrooms. Might help with your reading and comprehension. If its a female student wearing a skirt, what is she to wear underneath that is authorized by the school but also allows her to stay warm and able to concentrate on her studies? Common sense isn't too common nowadays. Students should not have to sit in freezing classrooms because some idiot makes a bad call.

@SandyBeachHeaven,

I am prior military and currently work on the base in northern Japan. From what we have been told, it will be up to the base commanders and unit leaders as to who will get the inoculation first. First responders will be first, then more mission essential personnel. Who knows how long it will take to get it to everyone. If you are an American, not associated with a base in any way, I don't see them really assisting you. The Embassy would probably be the best option for information. I know from personal experience trying to seek medical care through the base hospital. If you are not active duty or a dependent, you are not a level 1 priority.

@Kazuaki Shimazaki,

"No, for example, if you are unable to even stand, then the prosecutors won't have much trouble proving your cognizance. That's not the case this round - as measured he's just slightly over the limit, and he had taken a nap which means he did give his body a chance to work the toxins out."

He took a nap...who cares. It doesn't matter that he took a nap, he was still over the legal limit. Proven by the police with the breathalyzer. He stated he drank in the morning and was involved in the accident after midday.