Ghosn set for court hearing in Japan over detention

TOKYO:FormerNissanChairman Carlos Ghosn is likely to appear in a Japanese court next Tuesday to hear the reasons for his detention, after his lawyers deployed a littleused article of the Constitution.

The shock move was the latest in a series of unexpected twists in a case that has gripped Japan and the business world since the oncerevered auto tycoon was arrested on his private jet at a Tokyo airport on Nov 19.

The Tokyo District Court said his hearing would start at 10.30am (0130 GMT) in its court room, with Ghosn expected to appear.

“Mr Ghosn today submitted a request for the disclosure of the reasons for his detention,” the court said.

Article 34 of Japan’s Constitution stipulates that ‘no person shall be arrested or detained without being at once informed of the charges against him or without the immediate privilege of counsel’.

“Nor shall he be detained without adequate cause; and upon demand of any person such cause must be immediately shown in open court in his presence and the presence of his counsel,” it says.

Ghosn is spending the beginning of 2019 in detention after the court on New Year’s Eve extended his detention through to January 11 on allegations of aggravated breach of trust.

He was re-arrested over these allegations on Dec 21, dashing his hopes of being home for Christmas.

Since his shock arrest on Nov 19, the case has shone a light on the Japanese legal system, which has come in for some criticism internationally. — AFP