TOKYO — The Japanese authorities said on Tuesday that they had issued a warrant for the arrest of Carole Ghosn, the wife of Carlos Ghosn, taking direct aim at the family of the fallen auto magnate as they sought to bring him back to the country to face criminal charges.

[Latest updates on Mr. Ghosn’s press conference in Beirut.]

Prosecutors in Tokyo said they had obtained an arrest warrant for Mrs. Ghosn, 53, on suspicion of giving false testimony nine months ago. In a statement, they said Mrs. Ghosn had testified that she did not know a person who was involved in Mr. Ghosn’s case, even though she was in communication with that person while the person was wiring money between companies at Mr. Ghosn’s request.

The statement did not disclose the identities of the person or the companies.

The arrest warrant is the latest twist in an international tale of intrigue. Mr. Ghosn, the architect of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi auto empire, faces charges of financial wrongdoing in Japan. But he fled the country on Dec. 29, flying on private jets first to Turkey and then to Lebanon. Mr. Ghosn is a Lebanese national, and the nation does not extradite its citizens.

In an additional development, the air charter company that flew Mr. Ghosn said in a statement on Tuesday that it was paid only half of the $350,000 fee for the Japan-to-Turkey flight, and that it had received no compensation at all for the second flight from Turkey to Lebanon.