Hagerty referred to Kelly as a "Tennessee citizen" and said he had been "deceived" into leaving the state to go to Japan where he was arrested in 2018, even though his lawyers believed he had committed no crime.

Hagerty said Japan was the number one investor in his home state and called the case "a real impediment" to the U.S.-Japan economic relationship.

Japanese prosecutors called for the jail sentence for Kelly, who has been on bail in Japan since 2018, during closing arguments in a trial that began a last year.

A ruling in the case is expected next year, and if found guilty, Kelly could join two other Americans serving time in Japan after a court sentenced them in July for helping smuggle Ghosn out of Japan on a private jet hidden in luggage to Lebanon at the end of 2019, where he remains free as a fugitive.