Japan is scrambling to fill security and legal gaps to prevent defendants on bail from fleeing after former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn jumped bail and escaped from Japan late last month.
Transport minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Tuesday the country will require large luggage carried by private jet passengers to undergo inspections after the 65-year-old tycoon, facing trial over financial misconduct, left Japan on Dec. 29 without going through proper embarkation procedures.
Ghosn fled to Lebanon via Turkey after he was reportedly smuggled out in a large box reserved for concert equipment that was too large to fit through airport scanners.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan will seek cooperation from Lebanon in getting to the bottom of his escape.
The top government spokesman said it was "extremely regrettable" that Ghosn had left Japan "illegally," adding Japan has been communicating with Lebanon over the matter.
The mandatory luggage inspections took effect Monday at Haneda, Narita, Chubu and Kansai airports, and Akaba has instructed other airports to strengthen inspections as well.
Inspections of luggage for private jets have been carried out by their pilots and aircraft operators, and the same level of safety checks are not required as for commercial airlines carrying unspecified and large numbers of passengers.
(Photo taken at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture on Jan. 4, 2020, shows the entrance of a lounge for private jet travelers that Carlos Ghosn, the former chief of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi auto alliance, may have used before fleeing to Lebanon)
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(Carlos Ghosn is disguised as a workman as he is released on March 6, 2019, from the Tokyo Detention House, where he was held for 108 days)
"We will ensure safe operations by strengthening inspections," Akaba said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Masako Mori said the same day her ministry plans to swiftly consult a legislative council about amending related laws. The council could start discussions as early as February, a source familiar with the matter said.
Japanese laws state that escaping from prisons or detention facilities is a crime, but the ministry plans to expand their scope to include escape by individuals on bail, the source said.
Other issues expected to be discussed include requiring defendants on bail to appear in appeal hearings and attaching electronic tags to them.
The ministry began considering legal amendments after a man on bail fled Yokohama prosecutors in June, which was followed by similar escapes.
As the Yokohama man did not appear at a high court for a ruling, as is mandatory for a ruling at a first trial, the ministry plans to require that individuals appear so that the convicted can be smoothly transferred to prison.
The council will discuss the introduction of electronic tags, taking into account human rights concerns and how to operate monitoring systems.