The Tokyo District Court has rejected a request by Ghosn's lawyers to end his detention following his Nov. 19 arrest on accusations of financial misconduct, Jiji Press reported on Wednesday.

Without citing its sources, Liberation reported that Ghosn had had his tax domicile in France until 2012 and was subject to the country's wealth tax.

Ghosn then moved his tax domicile to the Netherlands, where the holding company for the Renault-Nissan alliance is incorporated and which does not have a wealth tax, the daily said.

Liberation said French fiscal authorities declined to comment on Ghosn's case as it was a "tax secret", as is their policy on individuals' tax situations.

In his first public appearance since his arrest, Ghosn told a Tokyo court on Tuesday that he had been wrongly accused of financial conduct. Ghosn has been formally charged with under-reporting his income.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Leigh Thomas; Editing by Jan Harvey)