Former Abe Aide Dismisses Ghosn’s Allegations of Japan Plot
Former Abe Aide Dismisses Ghosn’s Allegations of Japan Plot
(Bloomberg) -- Carlos Ghosn’s allegations of Japanese official involvement in his downfall are unthinkable, a lawmaker and former aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday, days after the former auto titan’s claims were broadcast around the world.
“If he has some specific information, he should put that forward in open court,” Masahiko Shibayama, who was a lawyer before becoming a ruling party lawmaker, said in an interview. The senior Liberal Democratic Party politician added that he thought there might not be any basis for the allegations.
Ghosn, the former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, on Wednesday used his first news conference since his dramatic escape from Japan to Lebanon to blast what he called “hostage justice.” Speaking in four languages, he offered a rebuttal of the charges against him and accused Japanese prosecutors, government officials and Nissan executives of conspiring to topple him to prevent a further integration of the Japanese carmaker with Renault.
Justice Minister Masako Mori has given five news conferences this week in an attempt to rebut Ghosn’s criticisms of the country’s legal system and practices. She said his accusations were mostly “abstract, unclear or baseless.”
Lebanon does not permit the extradition of its own citizens, leaving Japan with little hope of trying him in its own courts. Interpol has already issued a Red Notice for Ghosn, who holds a Lebanese passport, upon the request of the Japanese government.
To contact the reporters on this story: Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo at ireynolds1@bloomberg.net;Takashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at thirokawa@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon Herskovitz, Chris Kay
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