The company said in a statement that its aim was to minimise the impact from the case on its alliance with France's Renault SA and smaller Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motor Corp.
It said Mr Ghosn and another executive, Greg Kelly, were also dismissed as representative directors.
Nissan's board held an emergency meeting at the company headquarters in Yokohama on Thursday.
The company said in a statement that the decision was made after the board reviewed a detailed report of an internal investigation into the alleged misconduct.