Japan or extradite Ghosn? Lebanon: Does not stop Japan's investigation fromrequesting the

Xinhua News Agency-The Japanese government said on the 6th that it may make arequest to Lebanon to extradite the former chairman of Nissan Carlos Ghosn.

At a press conference held on the same day, Japanese Minister of Justice Morikodid not disclose the details of the "escape" that reporters are mostconcerned about. She declined to talk about where Ghosn came from and howshe fled Japan, citing an ongoing investigation.

Ghosn is suspected of financial crimes and was released on bail pending trialin April 2019, on conditions including not being allowed to leaveJapan. According to Kyodo News Agency, Ghosn is believed to have leftJapan by private jet from the Kansai International Airport in Osaka on December29 of the same year and arrived in Lebanon after stopping in Turkey.

Ghosn confirmed that he is in Lebanon on December 31, 2019. In response tohis accusations of unfairness by the Japanese judiciary, Morimatsu Ren said:"Comments on the Japanese judicial system and his departure from Japan inviolation of the law are two different things."

Sonia emphasized that Ghosn's conduct "has no proper exit procedures,using "Unauthorized method" constitutes the crime of illegaldeparture.

Gauss absconded during the New Year holiday. The press conference on the6th was the first regular press conference held by the Japanese governmentafter he absconded.

According to Sayako, in accordance with general principles, Japan can file anextradition request with another country even if the two countries have notconcluded an extradition treaty.

There is no extradition treaty between Japan and Lebanon. Moriako statesthat extradition requests should be made after careful consideration on thebasis of reflecting the principle of reciprocity and the implementation of thedomestic law of another State.

She did not specify what Japan needs to do to embody the principle ofreciprocity, nor did she mention whether Lee had previously requestedextradition from Japan.

A senior Lebanese security official told Reuters that Lebanon typically doesnot transfer its citizens to foreign jurisdictions.

Sayako also said that Japan will review the conditions of bail, includingconsidering the use of a global positioning system to monitor the whereaboutsof the bail.

A Lebanese prosecutor told Kyodo News on the 5th that the "Red WantedOrder" issued by the International Criminal Police Organization had aprogram loophole.

Earlier, there were reports that Lebanese prosecutors will begin questioningGhosn on the 7th. But the prosecutor, who spoke on condition of anonymity,said that the Interpol arrest warrant was not a formal request and a proceduralloophole that prevented Lebanese prosecutors from questioning Ghosn.

The Japanese government submitted a request to Interpol to arrest Ghosn on the2nd. Albert Sehan, the Lebanese caretaker government's attorney general,confirmed on the 2nd that Lebanon had received a "red wanted order"from Interpol.

The official did not explain any procedural loopholes in the Interpol arrestwarrant. He also said that Japan has not requested a joint investigationof Ghosn with Lebanon. If Japan does, Lebanese prosecutors will notobstruct it.

Ghosn is 65 years old and is of Lebanese origin. He was born in Brazil andhas French, Lebanese, and Brazilian citizenship. Lebanon earlier statedthat Ghosn had legal access to Lebanese territory with a French passport and aLebanese identity card. However, the Turkish side where Ghosn is locatedstated that Ghosn had illegally entered and left Turkey and that two suspectsassisting him in his travel had been detained.

(Original title: Japan or seeking to extradite Ghosn from Lebanon)