Junichiro Hironaka, chief lawyer of the ousted Nissan Motor Co Ltd chairman Carlos Ghosn, attends a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato
Carlos Ghosn’s newly appointed defense lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, has declared the legal team will abandon the previous strategy used to challenge financial misconduct allegations against the former Nissan Motor Co Ltd chairman. Hironaka emphasized the new approach would not be constrained by tactics employed by Ghosn’s former attorney, Motonari Otsuru, who was dismissed in February.
Hironaka stated during a press briefing, "We are in no way limited by Otsuru’s activities while he was heading Ghosn’s team." He confirmed the team would "go forward with a new legal strategy," signaling a shift in defense tactics.
Ghosn, detained in a Tokyo facility for over three months, faces charges of financial misconduct related to alleged underreporting of his Nissan compensation from 2008 to 2018. He has consistently denied wrongdoing. Hironaka has criticized Japan’s judicial system for maintaining Ghosn’s custody and argued the allegations should have been resolved internally by Nissan.
The former chairman has claimed his Nissan colleagues orchestrated a "plot and treason" to undermine him over concerns about his partnership with Renault SA. Nissan alleges Ghosn deferred compensation until retirement to obscure his salary and shifted personal financial losses onto the company’s books in 2008.
Ghosn’s legal battle continues as his new team seeks to reframe the case, with Hironaka’s approach marking a departure from previous defense efforts.
