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Nissan-Renault alliance

Nissan hurt by nationalist forces, says outgoing chief

In final interview, Hiroto Saikawa says a faction wanted to break Renault alliance

Hiroto Saikawa: 'There were people inside Nissan who held deeply rooted conservative views that the company should go back to before it faced its financial crisis in the late 1990s' (Photo by Kei Higuchi)

YOKOHAMA, Japan/HONG KONG (Financial Times) -- Hiroto Saikawa, who served as chief executive of Nissan under Carlos Ghosn, has warned that the carmaker has been damaged by Japanese nationalists wanting to unwind its 20-year alliance with France's Renault.

In his final interview before a new chief is installed on Monday, Mr Saikawa said: "There were people inside Nissan who held deeply rooted conservative views that the company should go back to before it faced its financial crisis in the late 1990s. These forces were unleashed when the Ghosn system fell."

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