Japanese court denies extended detention of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn

The Tokyo District Court said it rejected the request for another 10-day detention for Ghosn over an additional allegation dealing with financial reports in most recent years.

The denial is extremely rare in a country where requests from investigative authorities for extended detention are almost automatically approved.

If a bail request by his lawyer is accepted by the court, Ghosn may be released as early as Thursday.

Prosecutors are expected to appeal against the court decision and could take further legal steps to allow them to investigate Ghosn and co-accused Greg Kelly longer.

Ghosn was arrested on November 19, along with Kelly, another executive, over allegations that they under-reported Ghosn's pay by about five billion yen (£35 million) in 2011-2015.

Both have since been charged with violation of Financial Instruments and Exchange Act for the five-year period.

Tokyo prosecutors last week added a second allegation that the two also under-reported another four billion yen (£28 million) in Ghosn's pay for 2016-2018, for which their first 10-day detention was to expire later Thursday.

Prosecutors allege Ghosn's pay was under-reported by nearly 10 billion yen (£63 million).

The maximum penalty for violating the financial law is up to 10 years in prison, a 10 million yen (£70,000) fine, or both. The conviction rate in Japan is more than 99%.

The arrest of an industry leader has triggered international attention and criticism over his nearly month-long custody at Tokyo Detention House.

Prosecutors faced criticism for separating the same allegation into two periods as a tactic to keep Ghosn and Kelly in detention.

Prosecutors say Ghosn and Kelly are flight risks. No trial date has been set.