This sputtering carmaker was a paragon of globalization once, with its fortunes revived by a French-Brazilian-Lebanese chief.

When merger talks between Nissan and Honda ended in February, a Toyota executive contacted Nissan to see how the world’s biggest automaker might help its troubled rival, a Japanese media report says.

On deck for more than 20 years, Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa knows the ins and outs of the flailing automaker. He also has the ...