TOKYO, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A newly appointed lawyer for ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn told reporters on Monday that his legal team is seeking to secure bail for Ghosn through new proposals in an effort to end his long detention.
"Mr. Ghosn strongly wishes to be released. We made the request so that he could be bailed as soon as possible," Junichiro Hironaka, Ghosn's new lawyer, said in a press conference held in Tokyo.
Ghosn, who was arrested in November along with his close aide Greg Kelly, has since been kept at a detention facility in Tokyo.
He is facing allegations of under-reporting his earnings in Nissan's financial statements for years, in violation of Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
Ghosn's former legal teams had filed two previous bail requests in January but were both rejected by the Tokyo District Court, in fear that he could destroy evidence.
Regarding the latest bail request made last Thursday, Hironaka said that he had added "various means for a convincing" application to prove that Ghosn poses no risk of flight or evidence tampering, adding that he expects Ghosn to be released "in the near future."
Two lawyers who had been working for Ghosn handed in their resignations on Feb. 13, a day before the court was scheduled to hold talks with prosecutors and lawyers to traverse the details of Ghosn's trial. A new legal team was established in mid-February for Ghosn's defense.
