The former CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, was once one of Japan’s most respected business people. Now, as the Guardian’s Justin McCurry reports, he’s on the run in Lebanon after fleeing the country to escape financial misconduct charges. Also today: Gary Younge looks back on the opportunities he had as he bows out after 26 years at the Guardian

Stories in the business pages don’t often catch the eye of Hollywood scriptwriters. But the case of Carlos Ghosn is an exception. Over Christmas, the former boss of the Japanese car giant Nissan, wearing a disguise, reportedly hid inside a musical instrument case and jumped bail from financial misconduct charges in Japan to Lebanon.

The Guardian’s Justin McCurry has been following the story from Tokyo and watched as Ghosn broke cover at an extraordinary press conference last week from Beirut in which he called out former colleagues and the entire Japanese justice system. It now appears unlikely that Ghosn will ever face charges in a Japanese – but has he instead chosen the life of a fugitive?



Also today: as the Guardian’s Gary Younge bows out after 20 years as a columnist, he reflects on the circumstances in Britain in the 1990s that led to his opportunities – and why not enough has changed since.

This summary text was amended on 16 January 2020 to more accurately reflect the nature of the charges against Carlos Ghosn.



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