Japanese automaker Nissan (NSANY) finds itself at a crossroads. Nissan was poised to participate in a megamerger with rival Honda (HMC), and it was a huge development when the talks were revealed late last year.

Nissan and Honda, both major automakers based in Japan, responded Wednesday to reports that a potential merger of the two companies could beat risk of being abandoned.

There's strife of the horizon as Nissan vehemently opposes Honda's suggestion of making the struggling carmaker its subsidiary.