Ghosn's first court appearance may be on May 23 as part of the preparations for the trial, NHK said, citing sources familiar with discussions between the prosecution and the defence.

Ghosn was released on $9 million (6.8 million pounds) bail this month after spending more than 100 days in a Tokyo detention centre. He faces charges of under-reporting his salary at Nissan by about $82 million over nearly a decade.

Ghosn has said the charges are "meritless".

He was stripped of the role of Nissan chairman but remains a board member.

(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by David Dolan)

By Stanley White