Tokyo: Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon to avoid a Japanese trial, was carrying one of his two French passports, local media said, as Japan launched a probe into the embarrassing security lapse.
His lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka has said lawyers hold three passports belonging to the international tycoon, who holds French, Brazilian and Lebanese nationalities.
But public broadcaster NHK said the court had allowed him to keep a second French passport so long as it were kept "in a locked case" with the key held by his lawyers.
There is no emigration data showing Ghosn's departure from Japan but he entered Lebanon on a French passport, NHK said.
Prosecutors and police are poised to launch an investigation into the stunning escape, suspecting he departed "in an unlawful manner," NHK said.
Authorities plan to analyse security camera footage from his residence and other places they suspect Ghosn appeared before he fled, NHK said.
Police suspect "several" people accompanied him to help him escape, it added.
When his defence lawyers were arguing for bail, prosecutors claimed he was a flight risk with powerful connections, but Ghosn himself had said he wanted to be tried to prove his innocence.
