- Title: Japanese people surprised by Carlos Ghosn's Japan departure
- Date: 31st December 2019
- Summary: YOKOHAMA, JAPAN (FILE - MARCH, 2019) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF NISSAN MOTOR CO HEADQUARTERS SIGN READING (Japanese and English): "NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD, GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS" FLAGS OF JAPAN, FRANCE AND NISSAN EXTERIOR OF NISSAN MOTOR CO HEADQUARTERS NISSAN LOGO
- Embargoed: 14th January 2020 03:49
- Keywords: Beirut Carlos Ghosn Japan Lebannon Nissan Renault Tokyo automobile trial
- Location: TOKYO/YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO/YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA002BCB11DZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: People on the streets of Tokyo on Tuesday (December 31) were surprised to hear of ousted Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn's sudden departure to Beirut, but most reckoned he left Japan to escape trial.
"We want him to appear in an appropriate place and speak with his own words", said 44-year-old company employee Masahiro Omata visiting shopping district Ginza in central Tokyo with his family.
Ghosn said after arriving in Lebanon that he refused to be "held hostage" by a "rigged" Japanese justice system. His flight raises questions about how one of the world's most-recognized executives exited Japan months before his trial. Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan, according to Japan's justice ministry, making it unlikely that he could be forced to return to Tokyo to face trial.
Neither Ghosn's attorney nor a spokesman for the Tokyo prosecutors office had immediate comment when contacted earlier about Ghosn's whereabouts. A Nissan spokesman declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Lebanese embassy in Tokyo said, "We did not receive any information".
(Production: Akira Tomoshige, Akiko Okamoto, Masako Iijima) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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