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.

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

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.