Carlos Ghosn is gone, but what a powerful man! A regular person like me could never act like that. In this article, I would like to briefly analyze the Carlos Ghosn case and share my personal view of this extraordinary event.
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Owing to Mr. Ghosn’s tactics, the media appears to be mixing up the related but different issues in this matter. Mr. Ghosn is inducing them to write the story that he is a victim/fugitive of the medieval-like Japanese justice system. However, the three issues, namely, (1) the criticism against the Japanese justice system, (2) the charges against him, and (3) his escape from Japan to Lebanon, should be considered separately.
1. Japanese justice system
Owing to his calculated presentation, the Japanese justice system must have lost some of its reputation during the past few days. As a person who is making a living in this industry, I naturally feel bad about that.
However, indeed, the Japanese justice system is not keeping up with the times. For instance, the right to have a lawyer attend an interrogation is not admitted in Japan, unlike many other countries, including Korea and Taiwan. I remember one American client of mine was upset to learn of this on the occasion of questioning.
The system must change. Maybe, we should take advantage of this opportunity to bring it closer to the norm seen in other democratic countries.
2. Allegations against Mr. Ghosn
Still, the allegations against him deserve a closer look. The flawed system doesn’t justify financial misconduct. Putting all the given information together, Mr. Ghosn is likely to have been involved with a power struggle at the top of Nissan. Even some government officials might have been involved as he insists. Still, they don’t necessarily justify the alleged offenses themselves. He should have stood trial to defend himself and uncover the truth.
3. Escape from Japan to Lebanon
This is an obvious crime. Indisputable. Socrates obeyed what he regarded as an unjust verdict. Crito offered him an escape, which he refused and died. Mr. Ghosn’s case doesn’t even appear a matter of life or death. While our system has many problems, Japan is not a corrupted country where judges are bribed. Instead, it is a democratic country that enjoys one of the lowest crime rates in the world. According to the Rule of Law Index 2019 [1] provided by the World Justice Project, Japan is ranked 15th for its adherence to the rule of law in practice. Lebanon is ranked 89th.
He fought the law
Nevertheless, I don’t dislike him. He is a man of action. He fought the law, and he won, unlike that song.
Note:
[1] https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/ROLI-2019-Reduced.pdf
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure that the information on this article is accurate at the time of posting, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ. If you do require advice or wish to find out more about the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
Text by: Atty. Atsushi Miyake of Miyake Law, Jan. 2020.
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