Japan to try US pair accused of helping ex-Nissan exec flee
So much of what’s discarded is harmful to the environment and dangerous to wildlife
TOKYO — Two Americans suspected of helping former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn skip bail and escape to Lebanon in December 2019 have been extradited to Japan.
Michael Taylor and his son Peter had been held in a suburban Boston jail since May. They were handed over to Japanese custody Monday and arrived Tuesday in Tokyo.
Ghosn, who led Nissan Motor Co. for more than two decades, was arrested in 2018 and charged with underreporting his future compensation and breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for personal gain.
Ghosn maintains that he is innocent.
What are the father and son accused of doing?
Michael Taylor, with the help of another man, George-Antoine Zayek, hid Ghosn in a large black box supposedly containing audio equipment, according to authorities. The box passed through airport security in Osaka, Japan, and was loaded onto a private jet that flew Ghosn to Turkey. Peter Taylor is accused of meeting with Ghosn and helping his father carry out the escape. Authorities say the Taylors were paid at least $1.3 million.
Where will they be taken and what happens there?
The Taylors, like other suspects, can be held up to 23 days without any formal charges at the Tokyo Detention Center on the outskirts of the capital and questioned for hours almost daily by prosecutors, without a lawyer present. Their lawyer can visit and they can receive snacks and books. The detention can be extended with “rearrests,” if more charges are tagged on. Ghosn spent more than 100 days at the center before gaining his release on bail.
Is this the routine treatment of suspects in Japan?
The Japanese treatment of suspects has been widely criticized as “hostage justice,” designed to coerce suspects to confess and often resulting in false confessions. The Taylors’ lawyers in the U.S. say they worry they may be treated unfairly in Japan and subjected to “mental and physical torture.” They also argue that jumping bail is not a crime under Japanese law. That is technically accurate, but most people who escape are easily caught in Japan.
What can be expected if they go on trial?
Even after formal charges are filed, closed-door pretrial sessions by the prosecutors and defendants before a judge generally go on for months. The media have no access to such sessions. Jury trials exist in Japan, but only for murders and other heinous crimes. A panel of three judges will hear the Taylors’ case in a trial that could last months or even years. Media coverage is allowed, but no filming or recording. If convicted, the Taylors face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $2,900. In principle, just as in the U.S., people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. But 99% of criminal trials end in convictions.
Where is Ghosn and can he be tried?
Japan has put Ghosn on Interpol’s wanted list, but Lebanon has no extradition treaty with Japan. Extradition from the U.S. isn’t common, so the extradition of the Taylors for an alleged nonviolent crime reflects the determination of Japanese prosecutors to pursue the case against Ghosn. Ghosn is almost certain to be extradited if he sets foot in the U.S. Former Nissan senior executive Greg Kelly is on trial in Tokyo on charges he helped underreport Ghosn’s compensation. Kelly, an American, says he is innocent.
Stop trashing Hampton Roads. It’s absurd that’s a message anyone needs to tell are residents. Those who live here should want our communities to be clean and beautiful. It’s our home, after all.
Yet it’s easy to see along our roadsides, in open spaces and alleyways, in our waterways and parking lots, that too many people don’t seem to take that message to heart. Litter is everywhere — and there’s more of it during this pandemic.
We’ve always had residents who could care less about where their trash goes. Plenty of people have aggravating stories, such as garbage flying from the back of a pick-up tailgate while driving down I-64 or miscreants who spend time on the beaches and fail to clean up after themselves.
But in recent months, the problem has grown noticeably worse. Seemingly every ditch, every roadside, every sidewalk and stream and suburban landscape is littered with … well … litter.
Maybe when faced with a deadly disease and worries about the future of civilization, some folks decided that pitching their discarded fast-food sack in a dumpster wasn’t as vital as it once seemed. The pandemic appears to have unleashed a certain devil-may-care attitude in Hampton Roads.
But here we are, still living in these communities, ready once again to visit the beaches and enjoy our landscape, only to find it filthy and unappealing. We’d say those responsible should be ashamed of themselves, but one wonders if that’s possible given this shameless display.
It’s not just you, dear reader, who’s probably noticed the uptick in litter of late. A recent story published in these pages included the numbers to prove it:
In Chesapeake, the Public Works Department has seen an 18% jump in residents reporting debris or litter in the city rightof-way. Norfolk depends on volunteers for litter collection and Keep Norfolk Beautiful has been constrained by the pandemic, meaning fewer volunteers picking up less trash. Other cities tell similar tales.
The result: More trash across the landscape, cluttering the streets, drifting into the waterways and making our communities appear unkempt. For a region dependent on visitors, that’s not a good look — figuratively and literally.
Nobody should need reminding that so much of what’s discarded is harmful to the environment and dangerous to wildlife. We’ve all seen photos of fish and birds ensnared by six-pack rings or sea turtles with straws in their heads. (Shudder.
Those poor turtles.)
Our location, at the confluence of so many important and living waterways, makes trash a much larger problem. The ocean and the bay and the rivers aren’t just pretty to look at; they’re the livelihood of oystermen and commercial fishermen, critical to our recreational economy and essential to life throughout our region.
There is much we can do to curb the problem. Begin with the simple: Stop littering. At all. No more tossing a cigarette butt out the window or leaving that soda cup in the back of your truck. Call out bad behavior and set a good example for others.
Next, be a part of the solution. Bring a bag when you’re on a neighborhood walk and pick up what you can. Volunteer with any of the litter clean-up groups or, heck, organize your friends and neighbors to keep your part of Hampton Roads clean and tidy.
Add government to the mix. Officials can encourage enforcement of existing litter laws and hold those responsible to account for their thoughtless behavior. Invest in citywide clean-ups and a marketing campaign that we won’t stand for this anymore.
Note here that one of the most wellknown state slogans began as an anti-litter campaign: Don’t Mess With Texas. Surely the talented marketing folks throughout Hampton Roads can come up with something catchy and effective that can compete with that.
We’d like to think this will get better when the pandemic ebbs, but our old “normal” wasn’t good enough. We all have to do better if we’re going to have a community to be proud of.