by foxbusiness.com — Following his escape from Japan, former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo this weekend that he has “actual evidence” and documents that will prove that this was a coup to take him down. Ghosn told Bartiromo that at a press conference this week he plans to name names, including some people behind the Japanese government which he believes, are behind his 2018 arrest over financial misconduct allegations. Ghosn believes “they wanted to take him out” because he was going to merge with Nissan and Renault. But Ghosn said giving up his position as CEO put him in a “dangerous position” and he believes he should have left Japan, instead of being a support system for his successor Hiroto Sakawa.
Ghosn also told Bartiromo that he was “really unnerved and upset” that he failed to understand the unfairness of the Japanese judicial system and that the “straw that broke the camel’s back” was the fact that he was unable to speak to his wife. Ghosn said he refused to sit in his apartment under surveillance when he would not get a fair trial but is willing to have his case heard in front of any court aside from Japan. Ghosn’s wife told FOX Business in April that her husband was in poor health and enduring harsh conditions while being incarcerated.
by cnn — Ghosn’s public attacks will bruise ‘brand Japan’
“Brand Japan is going to suffer a great deal,” said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan. “His case is certainly a major black eye for the Japanese judicial system.” Ghosn is already using his newfound freedom to rail on the country’s criminal court system, which boasts an incredibly high conviction rate, and which he claims had held him “hostage.” He has promised to communicate “freely” with journalists about his plight. The former Nissan chief may be guilty of various financial crimes, Kingston said, “but that has all been over shadowed” by Ghosn’s treatment and his arguments that the judicial system is rigged.
Japan’s top judicial official, Justice Minister Masako Mori, acknowledged “various criticisms” of the system at a press conference Monday, without going into detail. She also repeated her defense of the system, saying it assures “fundamental human rights.” Japan could seek Ghosn’s extradition from Lebanon, Mori said, but such a request would need careful consideration as no extradition treaty exists between the two countries. More public attacks by Ghosn on the justice system and Nissan could scare off corporate Japan from wanting to deal with any foreigners at all. For Japanese companies following the Ghosn debacle and mulling hiring foreign executives, “the lesson is: the risk is too high,” according to Kingston. Potential candidates are also likely to think twice. Attracting international talent will likely become a lot harder because foreign executives may not want to deal with Japanese firms, fearing they could become the next Ghosn, according to Kingston. “Imagine if you’re a foreign CEO being recruited into Japan,” he said. “Can we say, ‘evacuation insurance?'”
Foreign CEOs in Japan don’t usually work out
Ghosn’s fall in 2018 was stunning, but tensions between foreign management styles and the rest of corporate Japan have long predated this latest controversy. The reality is the overwhelming majority of Japanese companies don’t bring in outside CEOs because the salary-man, lifetime employment system means they rarely need to hire outsiders, let alone foreigners who may have a tough time fitting in. And several high-profile CEO appointments to big Japanese companies haven’t worked out so well. Michael Woodford’s brief stint as CEO of electronics maker Olympus ended after he uncovered fraudulent practices at the company in 2011. Howard Stringer’s tenure at Sony (SNE) coincided with an extended period of poor earnings. And Craig Naylor resigned as chief of Nippon Sheet Glass after less than two years on the job because he had major policy differences with the rest of the company. Christophe Weber, the French head of pharmaceutical maker Takeda (TAK), is now the country’s most prominent non-Japanese boss. His bold, $62 billion acquisition last year of Ireland-based Shire was criticized by Japanese investors, who thought it was too risky for Takeda.
