TOKYO: Nissan Motor Co. will hold a board meeting on Thursday to oust Chairman Carlos Ghosn after the shock arrest of its once-revered leader, starting what could be a long period of uncertainty in its 19-year alliance with Renault.
The Franco-Japanese alliance, enlarged in 2016 to include Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors, has been rattled to its core by Ghosn’s arrest in Japan on Monday, with the 64-year-old group chairman and industry star accused of financial misconduct.
Ghosn had shaped the alliance and was pushing for a deeper tie-up including potentially a full Renault-Nissan merger at the French government’s urging, despite strong reservations at the Japanese firm.
Amid growing uncertainty over the future of the alliance, finance ministers of Japan and France are due to meet in Paris on Thursday to seek ways to stabilize it.
Renault has refrained from removing Ghosn from his position, although he remains in detention along with Representative Director Greg Kelly, whom Nissan also accuses of financial misconduct.
“For me, the future of the alliance is the bigger deal,” one senior Nissan official told reporters on Wednesday, when asked about Ghosn’s arrest. “It’s obvious that in this age, we need to do things together. To part would be impossible.”
Nissan’s board meeting will be held sometime after 4:00 p.m. (0700 GMT) at its headquarters in Yokohama and the company is likely to issue a statement afterwards, the official said, requesting anonymity as the details were confidential. Renault executives are expected to join by video conference.
Nissan said on Monday an internal investigation triggered by a tip-off from an informant had revealed that Ghosn engaged in wrongdoing including personal use of company money and under-reporting of his earnings for years.
Japanese prosecutors said he and Kelly conspired to understate Ghosn’s compensation at Nissan over five years from 2010, saying it was about half the actual 10 billion yen.
Ghosn and Kelly have not commented on the accusations and Reuters has not been able to reach them.
The Asahi Shimbun said on Thursday, quoting unnamed sources, that Ghosn had given Kelly orders by email to make false statements on his remuneration. Tokyo prosecutors likely seized the related emails and may use them as evidence, the report said.
The Yomiuri, Japan’s biggest-circulation daily, cited unnamed sources as saying that Nissan’s internal investigation found that Ghosn had since 2002 instructed that about $100,000 a year be paid to his elder sister as remuneration for a non-existent “advisory role.”
Shares in Nissan were flat, in line with a broader market , ahead of the board meeting.
Nissan board to meet for ousting Ghosn as future of alliance in focus
Nissan board to meet for ousting Ghosn as future of alliance in focus
- The Franco-Japanese alliance has been rattled to its core by Ghosn’s arrest in Japan
- Ghosn had shaped the alliance and was pushing for a deeper tie-up including potentially a full Renault-Nissan merger
Saudi Arabia, Japan trade rises 38% between 2016 and 2024, minister says
RIYADH: Trade between Saudi Arabia and Japan has increased by 38 percent between 2016 and 2024 to reach SR138 billion ($36 billion), the Kingdom’s investment minister revealed.
Speaking at the Saudi-Japanese Ministerial Investment Forum 2026, Khalid Al-Falih explained that this makes the Asian country the Kingdom’s third-largest trading partner, according to Asharq Bloomberg.
This falls in line with the fact that Saudi Arabia has been a very important country for Japan from the viewpoint of its energy security, having been a stable supplier of crude oil for many years.
It also aligns well with how Japan is fully committed to supporting Vision 2030 by sharing its knowledge and advanced technologies.
“This trade is dominated by the Kingdom's exports of energy products, specifically oil, gas, and their derivatives. We certainly look forward to the Saudi private sector increasing trade with Japan, particularly in high-tech Japanese products,” Al-Falih said.
He added: “As for investment, Japanese investment in the Kingdom is good and strong, but we look forward to raising the level of Japanese investments in the Kingdom. Today, the Kingdom offers promising opportunities for Japanese companies in several fields, including the traditional sector that links the two economies: energy.”
The minister went on to note that additional sectors that both countries can also collaborate in include green and blue hydrogen, investments in advanced industries, health, food security, innovation, entrepreneurship, among others.
During his speech, Al-Falih shed light on how the Kingdom’s pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka achieved remarkable success, with the exhibition receiving more than 3 million visitors, reflecting the Japanese public’s interest in Saudi Arabia.
“The pavilion also organized approximately 700 new business events, several each day, including 88 major investment events led by the Ministry of Investment. Today, as we prepare for the upcoming Expo 2030, we look forward to building upon Japan’s achievements,” he said.
The minister added: “During our visit to Japan, we agreed to establish a partnership to transfer the remarkable Japanese experience from Expo Osaka 2025 to Expo Riyadh 2030. I am certain that the Japanese pavilion at Expo Riyadh will rival the Saudi pavilion at Expo Osaka in terms of organization, innovation, and visitor turnout.”
Al-Falih also shed light on how Saudi-Japanese relations celebrated their 70th anniversary last year, and today marks the 71st year of these relations as well as how they have flourished over the decades, moving from one strategic level to an even higher one.
