A judge in Boston signaled he may authorize the extradition of two Americans to face criminal charges in Japan for their alleged role in helping former Nissan Co. chief Carlos Ghosn escape prosecution for financial misconduct.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell expressed skepticism at a hearing Friday about the ability of American courts to interpret Japanese law. He said denying a request by Tokyo prosecutors for the return of Michael Taylor and his son Peter could prevent the case "from truly being fleshed out and truly being considered by the experts.”

The Taylors were arrested in May at the request of Japan, which says they broke the law by engineering Ghosn’s dramatic escape from Tokyo last December. At the hearing, their defense lawyers argued the men’s alleged actions aren’t crimes under Japan’s penal code. But the U.S. judge said a Tokyo court may be a more appropriate place to resolve that legal dispute.