Tokyo - Japanese authorities have found that two Americans
helped former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn leave the country as
details of his flight begin to emerge, according to local media
reports Tuesday.
Ghosn, who faced trial in Japan on financial misconduct charges, left
his home in Tokyo alone on the afternoon of December 29 and walked
about 800 metres to a hotel, where he met the two Americans,
broadcaster NHK reported, citing unnamed investigative sources.
The two flew into Kansai International Airport in Osaka in the
morning on a private jet from Dubai, checked in at a hotel nearby
with a large box and boarded a bullet train from Shin-Osaka station
to Shinagawa station in Tokyo, NHK said.
Ghosn and the two then took a crowded bullet train from Shinagawa to
Shin-Osaka and arrived at the hotel after 8 pm (1100 GMT), the
broadcaster said.
Two hours later, the two left the hotel with two large boxes, while
Ghosn was not to be seen, the report said.
The two oversized containers, declared as music-related cases, did
not undergo X-ray checks. Customs officials did not open them
either. The jet bound for Turkey took off around 11:10 pm, local
media reported.
Japanese authorities believe Ghosn hid inside one of the two boxes,
the reports said.
Ghosn, who was first arrested in November 2018, has been charged with
breach of trust and falsifying financial documents to under-report
his income for years. He has denied the allegations.
Ghosn said after his arrival in Lebanon a week ago that he had
escaped "injustice and political persecution" in Japan.