Ghosn’s Legal Odyssey and What It Says About Japan

Carlos Ghosn was a jet-setting captain of industry, the C-suite superhero who helped save struggling automakers in France and Japan. That’s why his arrest in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct on Nov. 19, 2018, while he was chief executive of Renault SA and chairman of Nissan Motor Co., came as such a shock. After serving two lengthy stints in jail before being released on bail, all the while professing his innocence and saying the deck had been stacked against him, Ghosn managed to slip out of the country and find sanctuary in Lebanon, where he was raised and has citizenship. Scrutiny of his actions, and the fairness of Japan’s legal system, continues.

Ghosn, 65, was indicted in Tokyo on charges of under-reporting about $80 million in compensation and income during the fiscal years 2010 to 2014 at Nissan. Ghosn’s pay had been called out before in Japan, where executive compensation is a touchy topic. He’d had a high profile in Japan since 1999, when Renault entered into its partnership with Nissan. Assigned to turn around Nissan, Ghosn reduced purchasing costs, shut factories, eliminated 21,000 jobs and invested the savings into 22 car and truck models in three years.