The Japanese government, prosecutors and
Of the around 130 days that he was detained, interrogations were conducted on more than 70 days, with an average time of a little less than four hours a day, Saito said at a press conference.
"He had a chance to speak freely for a long time (at the press conference) and yet he did not give any specific explanation regarding his case," said another senior prosecutor of the approximately two-and-a-half-hour news conference held in
During preparations for his trial at the
Ghosn presented various documents at the press conference as counter-evidence, saying they proved the claims made by prosecutors were groundless.
"I am here to clear my name. These allegations are untrue, and I should have never been arrested in the first place," Ghosn said. "The allegations are baseless."
A prosecutor involved in the case questioned Ghosn's choice of
"If he is innocent and thinks countries other than
Ghosn, facing trial in
"I did not escape justice. I fled injustice and persecution, political persecution," he said, while declaring he is "ready to stand trial anywhere if I can have a fair trial."
Justice Minister
She defended the Japanese justice system, including Ghosn's claim he was subject to "hostage justice," an unfair trial, heavy-handed interrogation methods, a drawn-out judicial process, forced isolation from his wife, and a wider conspiracy between
"Those assertions will not justify his flight from
"If defendant Ghosn has anything to say on his criminal case, he should make his argument at a Japanese court and present concrete evidence," she said.
Mori said
She also said that prosecutors indict a suspect when there is a high likelihood of conviction based on sufficient evidence.
Her comments, made available in a statement in Japanese, English and French, said "there is no way" that the prosecutors would "take part in any kind of conspiracy of any interest groups and investigate a matter that has not reached a threshold."
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Suga, the top government spokesman, said at a press conference that Ghosn's "claims were one-sided and not convincing at all."
On the possibility of Ghosn's handover to
Lebanese prosecutors have accepted an
But the chance of him being arrested and handed over appears slim, given
"We will continue to coordinate with other countries and international organizations and take all possible steps to make sure criminal proceedings in our country are carried out properly," Suga said.
"I was wondering what kind of comments he would make, but I was disappointed," said Saikawa, who himself was pushed into resigning from
"In the end, he just fled because he was afraid he would be found guilty in a trial," he added.
"I have no time to keep up with a hoax of a person who left
==Kyodo
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