Tokyo's District Court denied former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn's request for release on bail, deciding to prolong his detention on Tuesday.

The decision comes after his indictment last week for temporarily transferring personal investment losses to Nissan in 2008, and under-reporting his salary for three years through March 2018.

Ghosn awaits a lengthy criminal trial that could happen several months from.

The arrest of the once-feted executive, who masterminded Nissan's financial turnaround two decades ago, sent shockwaves through the car industry and has impacted Nissan's alliance with Mitsubishi and France's Renault.

Ghosn has since been removed from chairmanship positions at Nissan and Mitsubishi, but remains chairman and chief executive at Renault.

The French government, Renault's biggest shareholder, will support Renault's decision to keep Ghosn at its helm unless it becomes clear he will be "chronically incapacitated" by the Japanese investigation, officials said on Monday.

The case has also put Japan's criminal justice system under international scrutiny and sparked criticism of some of its practices, including keeping suspects in detention for long periods and prohibiting defence lawyers from being present during interrogations, which can last eight hours a day.