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TOKYO — “We thought it was strange when he told us to make the glove box large enough for a 60-year-old Lebanese man,” recalls Akira Miyamoto, lead automotive designer on the Nissan Altima in 2012, “but even back then he knew he would need a safe way out of Japan eventually.”

Carlos Ghosn, the formerly-celebrated executive of Nissan and Renault, fled the country of Japan early Wednesday morning to his native Lebanon to avoid what he calls “a system rigged against perpetrators of rampant financial crimes.” Japanese officials, including Mr. Ghosn’s own lawyers, were unaware of the details of the daring escape until those who worked on the design and construction of the Altima came forward.

“Apparently, his dedicated involvement in the exact specifications of various interior compartments were not solely in the interests of optimizing this great mid-size sedan,” a spokesperson for the manufacturer said, “we ought to have looked into exactly why Mr. Ghosn requested every man-sized glove compartment come with 18-hours of oxygen and a day’s worth of turkey sandwiches on the standard Altima model.”

“But I guess we should have also noticed that he was using $18 million of company funds for houses and parties all over the world, so there’s room for improvement all around.”