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"I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied, in flagrant disregard of Japan's legal obligations under international law and treaties it is bound to uphold," he said in a statement, which was released on his behalf by a public relations firm.
Ghosn faces a litany of criminal charges in Japan, including allegations that he understated his income for years and funneled $5 million of Nissan's money to a car dealership he controlled. He has repeatedly denied the charges against him and has claimed that his ouster and arrest were part of a conspiratorial plot to remove him from the global alliance he built.
He said in his Tuesday statement that he has "not fled justice — I have escaped injustice and political persecution."
"I can now finally communicate freely with the media, and look forward to starting next week," he added.
An ongoing saga
Ghosn was initially detained in November 2018 and spent 108 days in a Tokyo jail cell before being released on bail in March. He returned to jail for a few weeks after being arrested again in April.
"To say that my husband's bail conditions are 'cruel and unusual' would be an understatement," she said in August.
Ghosn did not explain in his statement Tuesday how he was able to reach Lebanon. CNN Business has reached out to Japan's justice ministry, the Tokyo prosecutor's office and the city's district court, but has not received any responses. The government, however, is closed for the week for the New Year holiday.
After Ghosn's arrest last year, Lebanon's foreign ministry said that he represented "one of Lebanon's success stories abroad."
"The Lebanese foreign ministry will stand by his side in this ordeal to ensure that he receives a fair trial," the ministry said at the time.
News of Ghosn's escape from Japan broke overnight in Lebanon, and CNN Business has not yet been able to reach Lebanese officials for comment during normal business hours.
An automotive alliance
Ghosn's status as a titan of the auto industry was legendary. He lead successful turnarounds at Renault and Nissan, and was the architect of the alliance between those two carmakers and Mitsubishi Motors. Together, they produced one out of every nine cars sold worldwide as of last year.
Ghosn claimed that his downfall was brought about by Nissan executives who opposed his plans to deepen the Japanese company's integration with Renault.
Analysts have repeatedly speculated that Nissan executives were uncomfortable about the possibility of Renault and Ghosn seeking full control of the Japanese company.
Nissan has given a different version of events, saying that it began cooperating with Japanese prosecutors after a whistleblower helped it uncover serious financial misconduct by Ghosn.