The Tokyo District Court let Carlos Ghosn post bail last March, overruling prosecutors’ objections that he was a flight risk. After all, how could one of the most recognizable foreign people in the country flee while under round-the-clock surveillance?
As the world learned this week, the court was wrong and Ghosn’s stunning escape is bound to bode ill for future foreign suspects seeking to post bail. Yet in the longer term, the fallout could carry broader implications for the pace of reforms in a justice system some regard as draconian.
“It’s ironic that Ghosn criticized the Japanese justice system as hostage justice, because the prosecutor’s judgment turned out to be right since he actually fled,” said Hiroki Sasakura, a professor at Keio University Law School in Tokyo. “His action might have a reverse effect on the criminal justice system, especially the Japanese court’s way of thinking, which was turning more liberal.”
Given the high-profile nature of the suspect, the national legal system was already under heightened global scrutiny, with critics lambasting prosecutors for detaining the fallen automotive titan for so long.
Even after ultimately gaining release from prison, the former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA had restricted access to family members and paid the highest bail fees in Japanese history: ¥1 billion ($9.2 million) for his first bail and then another ¥500 million after he was rearrested on new charges. And the court ordered three passports belonging to Ghosn — from Brazil, France and Lebanon — be confiscated.
Japan is unusual for its lengthy pre-trial detentions, strict bail conditions and long delays before suspects are given their day in court, said Luke Nottage, a professor at the University of Sydney Law School and co-director of the Australian Network for Japanese Law.
In response to criticism from defense attorneys, courts in recent years were more lenient in allowing bail, Keio’s Sasakura said.
A backlash has already begun, with Ichiro Aisawa, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, denouncing the decision to give Ghosn bail in the first place.
“This should have never happened,” Aisawa wrote on Twitter. “We need to establish measures so we don’t screw up ever again.”
Authorities are allowed to detain suspects for two 10-day periods for questioning before a decision is made on whether to indict. Sometimes suspects are rearrested on new charges as a way to detain them longer.
Prosecutors rarely pursue cases they think they can’t win, and Japan is known for its nearly perfect conviction rate.
Those indicted may apply for bail as they await trial. About 34 percent of those detained received bail in 2018, according to the Japan Bail Support Association. That’s up from 15 percent a decade ago.
Such statistics reinforce the criticism by Ghosn, who issued a statement on Dec. 31 from Lebanon saying he had fled there to escape what he called Japan’s “rigged” justice system. This may lead to further calls for a more balanced system, according to Yuichi Kaido, a lawyer who has campaigned for such changes.
“I think the international community will look at Japan’s criminal justice system with great severity,” Kaido said. “There will be harsh questions raised there about Japan’s criminal justice system, including the death penalty and what is called hostage justice.”
However, the Ghosn case isn’t likely to have a lasting impact on the nation’s attractiveness as an investment destination, according to Deborah Elms, executive director of Asian Trade Centre, a Singapore-based advisory firm.
Foreign companies considering investments in Japan won’t be deterred by the situation surrounding Ghosn, she added, with Asian companies accustomed to unpredictable rules.
“This is just another example of an uncertain legal system that can be worked to your advantage or could come back and bite you,” she said.
Japan should resist internal calls to retaliate by making it even more difficult for suspects to win release from prison ahead of trial, said Nobuo Gohara, a former prosecutor who has been critical of the handling of Ghosn’s case.
“It’s very unfortunate that the efforts of his attorneys to obtain bail and the court’s judgment against the prosecutors to allow it was betrayed,” Gohara wrote in a blog post. “But we shouldn’t simplify the issue (and say) that the court shouldn’t have allowed bail.”
There’s a change that may win widespread support after Ghosn’s escape: a push for more extradition treaties. Japan has only two bilateral agreements, with the United States and South Korea. That compares with more than 30 for South Korea and more than 100 for the U.S.
“It’s just one of those areas where they haven’t given much thought and diplomatic attention,” said Nottage, the University of Sydney Law School professor. “The Japanese government might be thinking about (needing) more extradition treaties.”