Former Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa told a Japanese court Wednesday he believed the compensation for his predecessor Carlos Ghosn was too low by international standards, and so he supported Ghosn s retirement packages to prevent him from leaving. Mr. Ghosn had outstanding abilities and achievements, Saikawa said, testifying in Tokyo District Court in the criminal trial of Greg Kelly, a former senior executive at Nissan Motor Co. We needed to prepare for Mr. Ghosn s eventual retirement to keep him motivated and to have him continue to work for Nissan, he said in answer to a prosecutor s questioning. Saikawa worked closely with Ghosn and succeeded Ghosn as CEO in 2017. After Ghosn was arrested in November 2018, he denounced Ghosn.