Japan to seek talks with Lebanon over fugitive Carlos Ghosn

TOKYO - 2 January 2019: Japan is expected to speak with Lebanon through diplomatic channels about Carlos Ghosn fleeing Tokyo for the Middle East country, The Japan Times reported Thursday.

The comment marks some of the earliest indications about how Tokyo plans to respond after the former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA snuck out of Japan, where he was awaiting trial.

A senior Japanese government official, who asked not to be named, said the government is still unaware of various details including how Ghosn escaped Japan and his exact current whereabouts.

Lebanon, where Ghosn grew up and holds citizenship, doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Japan and it is not clear what angle the Japanese government will pursue in its diplomatic negotiations.

The former industry heavyweight also has French and Brazilian citizenship, though all his passports had been taken from him as a condition of his release on bail.