Former auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn on Thursday slammed as "ridiculous" a call by Japan's justice minister that he return from Lebanon to defend himself against charges of financial misconduct.

As Lebanon’s protest against the ruling elite approaches its third month, protesters targeted on Thursday the offices of Electricity du Liban over worsening power outages with the country in the grip of political and economic turmoil.

Lebanon banned former auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn from travelling on Thursday after questioning him over an Interpol "red notice" of charges of financial misconduct in Japan, judicial sources said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat on Thursday suggested that ex-chairman of Nissan-Renault Carlos Ghosn be named as Lebanon’s energy minister.

Deposits in foreign currencies, especially in US dollar are reportedly “safe” in Lebanese banks but the formation of a government is necessary to stop Lebanon’s economic “collapse,” the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily reported on Thursday.

Japan's justice minister on Thursday urged Carlos Ghosn to return and make his case in court, after the fugitive former auto tycoon gave an impassioned defence of his decision to jump bail and flee to Lebanon.

A lavish Versailles party, persecution by Japanese authorities, a Nissan-Renault merger. Shifting smoothly between topics in four languages, a pugnacious Carlos Ghosn Wednesday launched into a long-awaited media counter-attack.

In a room packed with top-tier journalists who flocked to his native Lebanon from all corners of the world, the 65-year-old spoke like a man who had been silenced for 14 months.

Fugitive ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn mounted a feisty defense Wednesday in Beirut, where he made his first public appearance since skipping bail in Japan 10 days ago.

Sources close to Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab on Wednesday denied that any changes have been introduced to the latest cabinet line-up that he has presented to President Michel Aoun, including the appointment of Demianos Qattar as a minister.

“The PM-designate is the one forming the government and he has conducted complete consultations that have never returned to square one,” the sources told LBCI TV.

Tokyo prosecutors slammed former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn on Thursday, accusing him of "one-sided" and "unacceptable" criticism of Japan's legal system after he jumped bail and fled the country.

In a statement after Ghosn addressed the media for the first time since his escape to Lebanon, the Tokyo prosecutor's office also said claims they had colluded with Nissan were "categorically false and contrary to fact."