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Japan calls Ghosn's escape inexcusable and vows tighter immigration checks

TOKYO — Japan's justice minister on Sunday called the flight of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn as he awaited trial on financial misconduct charges inexcusable and vowed to beef up immigration checks. Justice Minister Masako Mori said she had ordered an investigation after Ghosn issued a statement a few days ago saying he was in Lebanon. She said there were no records of Ghosn's departure from Tokyo. She said his bail has been revoked, and Interpol had issued a wanted notice. Departure checks needed to be strengthened to prevent a recurrence, Mori said. While expressing deep regret over what had happened, Mori stopped short of outlining any specific action Japan might take to get Ghosn back. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon. “Our nationÂ’s criminal justice system protects the basic human rights of an individual and properly carries out appropriate procedures to disclose the truth of various cases, and the flight of a suspect while out on bail is never justified,” she said in a statement. MoriÂ’s statement was the first public comment by a Japanese government official after the stunning escape of Ghosn, once a superstar of the auto industry. Tokyo prosecutors issued a similar statement Sunday. They had opposed Ghosn's release on bail, arguing he was a flight risk. First arrested in November 2018, Ghosn was out on bail over the last several months, and more recently had moved into a home in an upscale part of Tokyo. He has repeatedly said he was innocent. His statement from Beirut said he was escaping injustice. Japan's justice system has come under fire from human rights advocates for its long detentions, the reliance on confessions and prolonged trials. The conviction rate is higher than 99%. Even if Ghosn had been found innocent, the prosecutors could have appealed, and the appeals process could have lasted years. Ghosn's trial was not expected to start until April at the earliest. During that time, he had been prohibited from seeing his wife, and was only allowed a couple of video calls in the presence of a lawyer. Ghosn had been charged with underreporting his future compensation and breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for his personal gain. Although the details of his escape are not yet clear, Turkish airline company MNG Jet has said two of its planes were used illegally, first flying him from Osaka, Japan, to Istanbul, and then on to Beirut, where he arrived Monday and has not been seen since.

Mitsubishi is killing the Lancer this summer

The small sedan segment is going to get a little smaller this summer. At a Mitsubishi event last night, the company discussed its new focus on the crossover market. It left us wondering where this leaves the future of Mitsubishi sedans. We asked executive vice president and COO of Mitsubishi's North American division Don Swearingen about this, and he said the Mirage G4 will remain on the market to handle some sedan demand, but that Lancer production will end this August. Swearingen did explain that there will probably be leftover stock for a few months after the end of production, but that the car would effectively be gone this summer with 2017 its final model year. He said the sedan market is shrinking and the company needs to make sure any new product it develops is profitable, which is why Mitsubishi continues to shift its focus to the ever-growing crossover market and there are no current plans for a new Lancer. It should also be noted that the current Lancer was introduced a decade ago and wasn't terribly competitive to begin with. Still, we'll miss the Lancer line, even if it was only for the hope that we'd see another Lancer Evolution someday. Related Video:

2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will debut in New York

Mitsubishi is betting big on crossovers and EVs, and some promising stuff is in store for the end of this decade. But in the very near future, the first product in Mitsubishi's EV/CUV strategy will launch in the US: the 2017 Outlander PHEV will finally bow at the New York Auto Show in March. I say "finally" because Mitsubishi already offers a plug-in Outlander in other markets, and overseas the PHEV crossover is off to a great start. Mitsubishi is seeing "great success in Europe," according to Ken Konieczka, the company's VP of sales operations. And when the Outlander PHEV launches in the US later this year, Konieczka thinks it'll attract a lot of new buyers to the Mitsubishi brand. I got to see the 2017 Outlander PHEV at a small event in Detroit on Thursday. It's the only one in the country, and still has to undergo some more testing and development before the CUV ready for the spotlight. Perhaps that's why Mitsubishi parked it in a dark corner of Detroit's Garden Theater. Compared to the regular Outlander you see pictured here, the PHEV doesn't look all that different save some badges on the tailgate and front fenders and, of course, the charging port. But that's not all Mitsubishi has in store for New York. The Mirage G4 sedan will also bow at that show, after its Canadian introduction at the Toronto Auto Show in February. Like the Outlander PHEV, the Mirage G4 already exists in other markets, and Mitsubishi says it has the largest interior volume of any sedan in its class. More information about both models – including pricing and specifications – will be available when both cars hit the Javits Center stage in March.