Last April, Carlos GHOSN, the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. was rearrested over a financial scandal, but later escaped to his mother country of Lebanon while out on bail. On January 8, he held a press conference in Lebanon for members of the media that he had invited, in which he stated that his arrest had been a coup d’etat orchestrated by the prosecution and Nissan’s management and that he had been unfairly detained. He also said that he would have died if he had not attempted an escape, as under the Japanese judicial system, 99.4% of those arrested are found guilty. The methods employed to prosecute criminals in Japan, which involves seeking confessions with the words “you will be released if you confess,” has been criticized in Japan, too. This press conference gave a very bad impression of the Japanese judicial system to the world. However, there were many voices of dissent over this within Japan and around the world. The prosecutor’s office commented that the reason for its high conviction rate is that arrests are not made unless it is sure that there is enough evidence to indict, and that in this case too, there was sufficient evidence. Some people say that because he forfeited a huge sum of 1.5 billion yen in bail money by escaping, knowing that he would not win in a trial, that this is tantamount to an admission of guilt. On the other hand, in Lebanon, where Lebanese citizens have been protesting against the country’s corrupt politics, there were pros and cons to his decision, and some said he had returned home safe to a place where injustices were permitted. It is said that the accused, Ghosn, also said, “I have a great power of persuasion and money. I can do what others can’t.” The Japanese prosecutor’s office has even arrested and indicted the former Prime Minister TANAKA Kakuei, who was said to be the most influential prime minister in history, on charges including bribery.