How did Carlos Ghosn do it?

The former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, who was awaiting the first of two trials in Tokyo, somehow evaded almost round-the-clock manned and video surveillance and heavy restrictions on his freedom of movement to flee to Lebanon.

From there, Ghosn released an email Tuesday decrying the “injustice and political persecution” of the Japanese judicial system. The 65-year-old faced charges of financial misconduct and raiding corporate resources for personal gain, allegations he denies.

Soon after he resurfaced, the internet lit up with unconfirmed reports and theories of how Ghosn, now an international fugitive, pulled off an escape befitting a Hollywood thriller — one that will be very hard for Japanese authorities to live down. There are still more questions than answers.

In one speculative account, which cited no sources, Lebanese television station MTV reported that Ghosn smuggled himself out of Japan in a large musical instrument box after a Christmas band visited his residence in Tokyo. He was then shipped out of the country and later entered Lebanon from Turkey on a private plane.

Ghosn’s getaway followed weeks of planning, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. A team of accomplices assembled last weekend to carry out his exfiltration, and his wife, Carole, played a major role in the operation, the newspaper said.

Ghosn was taken from his court-monitored residence in Tokyo onto a private jet, bound for Turkey, from where he continued on to Lebanon, landing there early Monday morning, it said.

A detailed report in the French daily Le Monde, citing unidentified sources, similarly reported that Carole Ghosn organized the escape with the help of her brothers and their contacts in Turkey, and that her husband entered Lebanon with an ID card. He may have decided to flee because of new information Japanese authorities could have obtained from a Swiss bank and from offshore centers including Dubai, the newspaper reported.

The Lebanese newspaper Annahar, by contrast, reported that Ghosn entered the country with a French passport. The former industry heavyweight has Lebanese, French and Brazilian citizenship, though all his passports had been taken from him. Meanwhile, a report that Ghosn met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun was denied by an official at the presidency.

French newspaper Les Echos said Ghosn may have left Japan under a false identity with a forged passport, after boarding a private plane from a smaller airport where he was less likely to be recognized.

The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper said Lebanon officials were instructed by political leaders to ignore arrival formalities for Ghosn at the Beirut airport, citing a senior figure in the country’s ruling class that the newspaper did not identify.

Members of the international media film outside the property of Carlos Ghosn, former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, in Beirut on Tuesday. | BLOOMBERG

The French Foreign Ministry, for its part, said it doesn’t know how Ghosn pulled off the caper. The same ministry in Lebanon said in a statement that Ghosn entered the country legally and that it was unaware exactly how he fled Japan and arrived in Beirut.

Japan’s Asahi newspaper suggested Ghosn may have flown out of Kansai International Airport near Osaka, citing records from the Ministry of Transport indicating a private jet left Japan for Istanbul on Sunday evening. On social media, would-be sleuths also posted flight information about private jets on aircraft that left for Istanbul the same day that Ghosn may have left the country.

A long-range Bombardier Inc. business jet left Kansai airport on Sunday night, arriving Monday morning in Istanbul, the Wall Street Journal’s report said, citing flight-tracking data. A smaller jet left the airport for Beirut just over half an hour later, it said.

Ghosn’s vanishing act has trended on Twitter and inspired a fair amount of word play, as in “Ghosn with the Wind” and “Ghosn, Ghosn Gone.”

It wasn’t just casual tweeters alone.

Yousuke Isozaki, a ruling party lawmaker, tweeted that if another country was involved in Ghosn’s escape, it’s a breach of the country’s jurisdiction and on par with North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens. He called on the government to speak out on the matter.

The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said by email Wednesday officials are looking into the matter and cannot offer any comments at the moment.

Lebanese policemen stand guard near the parking access doors of the property of Carlos Ghosn, former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, in Beirut on Tuesday. | BLOOMBERG

Ghosn’s escape dominated the front pages of domestic newspapers on Wednesday, New Year’s Day.

Articles reported on speculation of how Ghosn was able to escape, the difficulty of extradition from Lebanon, and that his trial — set to begin in April — is now unlikely to go ahead.

The Yomiuri newspaper, citing unnamed top officials in the prosecutor’s office, reported on anger and frustration there. Those in the office told the Yomiuri that Ghosn had made a mockery of Japan’s justice system, blamed the courts and Ghosn’s lawyers for him being out on bail, saying it was obvious he would escape.

Ghosn is expected to give a press conference from Lebanon in his new home after the holidays.

Meanwhile, red-faced Japanese law enforcement and customs officials will have some explaining to do.