Nissan, or Nissan Group (nichiyo-kai) was one of Japan's most powerful business grouping, called keiretsu, founded by Yoshisuke Aikawa. It's core business was real estate and insurance, with hundreds of member companies, including fisheries, mining, and is affiliated with Hitachi companies. Although Nissan was primarily known for its car manufacturing outside of Japan, Nissan Motors was a comparatively small side business compared to its core real estate business, until the real estate crash of early 1990's, which dealt a devastating blow to the Nissan Group. Nissan Motors (Nissan Jidosha KK) successful turnaround was attributed by CEO Carlos Ghosn to his ability to detach from Nissan keiretsu connections. Nissan is short for Nippon Sangyo, which literally means "Japan Industries".
Member Companies