French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian referred Friday to former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn's rearrest during a meeting with Foreign Minister Taro Kono, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
It remains unclear what Le Drian said about Ghosn's situation, a day after the once-feted auto tycoon was again put in custody in Tokyo over a new allegation of aggravated breach of trust.
Asked by reporters about details of Le Drian's remarks, the official declined to comment, only saying the French minister touched on the issue briefly at the end of the meeting on the sidelines of a foreign ministerial gathering of the Group of Seven nations in Dinard in western France.
Kono listened to Le Drian but there was not enough time to respond, the official said.
The fourth arrest warrant against Ghosn — who was also chairman at Nissan's alliance partners Renault SA of France and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. — was issued as the three automakers were also stepping up their investigation into allegations that he misused company funds for private purposes.
Tokyo prosecutors served Ghosn with the latest warrant on suspicion he misused Nissan funds paid to a distributor in Oman.
The rearrest came less than a month after Ghosn's release on bail in Tokyo. The 65-year-old was planning to hold a news conference to "tell the truth about what's happening" but was rearrested before he could do so.