Newly-released emails have revealed that Japan intervened to protect Nissan’s independence from Carlos Ghosn.

It appears that during Ghosn’s chairmanship, officials at Nissan were quietly working with Japanese government officials in order to defend Nissan. The Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry took efforts to fight changes to the two-decade alliance between Nissan and Renault. It is clear that this issue was surfacing at the top echelons of the Japanese government. All of this was taking place during the months leading up to Carlos Ghosn’s arrest. The former executive was first arrested in December on allegations of financial wrongdoing. It was believed that Ghosn’s push to further cement the Renault-Nissan alliance would benefit Renault and their largest shareholder (the French state) at Nissan’s expense.

During the months after Ghosn’s original arrest, Nissan and Renault have put their best faces forward. They would both appear to be a model of business diplomacy. The Japanese government has long been wary of France’s pushes to make the 20-year alliance permanent.