The usually staid Japanese media have criticised Carlos Ghosn after the tycoon jumped bail and fled to Lebanon – reportedly inside a musical instrument case – to avoid what he called “political persecution” in Japan.

“Running away is a cowardly act that mocks Japan’s justice system,” said the Yomiuri Shimbun. By leaving the country, Ghosn had “lost the opportunity to prove his innocence and vindicate his honour”, the paper added, noting that the courts, his defence lawyers and immigration control officials also bore some responsibility in the affair.

Ghosn faced multiple charges of financial misconduct, all of which he denies. It was reported that the former Nissan and Renault chairman met Lebanon’s president upon his arrival in Beirut. According to Reuters, one source said Ghosn was greeted warmly by President Michel Aoun on Monday and was now in a buoyant and combative mood and felt secure in his newly found freedom.

Ghosn thanked Aoun for the support he had given him and his wife, Carole, while he was in detention, two sources close to Ghosn told Reuters. The sources added that the Lebanese ambassador to Japan had visited him daily while he was in detention. However, a media adviser to the president’s office denied the two men had met.

Lebanese officials have said there is no need to take legal measures against Ghosn because he entered the country legally on a French passport, although Ghosn’s French, Lebanese, and Brazilian passports are with lawyers in Japan.

The French and Lebanese foreign ministries said they were unaware of the circumstances of his journey. Lebanon has no extradition agreement with Japan.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Private security guards stand outside Carlos Ghosn’s home in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Maya Alleruzzo/AP

Under the terms of his bail in Japan, Ghosn had been confined to his house in Tokyo and had to have cameras installed at the entrance. He was prevented from communicating with his wife, and his use of the internet and other communications were curtailed.

The liberal Tokyo Shimbun newspaper said Ghosn’s actions had made a mockery of the Japanese justice system. “The defendant Ghosn insists he escaped political persecution … but travelling abroad without permission is against the conditions of his bail and mocks the Japanese justice system,” the paper wrote.

“There is a high probability that the trial will not be held, and his argument that he wants to prove his innocence is now in question.”

Some media noted that the decision to give him bail – seen by some as unusual at the time – now looked unwise. Prosecutors argued at the time that he was a flight risk with powerful connections, but Ghosn himself said he wanted to be tried to prove his innocence. One of his defence lawyers at the time said he was such a famous face that there was no chance he would be able to slip away undetected.

The conservative Sankei Shimbun noted that prosecutors believed the court had yielded to “foreign pressure” by offering him bail, amid widespread criticism in foreign media of Japan’s “hostage justice system” that allows for lengthy and repeated detention.

In December 2018 the court declined the prosecution’s request to extend Ghosn’s detention by 10 days – a surprising decision because the extension is usually almost automatic.

Ghosn was bailed twice, once in March and a second time after he was re-arrested in April. “All of these were rare decisions,” said the Sankei.

The centre-left Mainichi Shimbun quoted a senior prosecutor as saying: “This is what we predicted. This has ruined the prosecutors’ painstaking work.”

The Asahi Shimbun quoted a former Nissan executive voicing his disappointment at Ghosn’s actions, saying: “My jaw hit the floor. I can’t find the words to express myself.”