TOKYO — Nissan’s board of directors voted unanimously to remove Carlos Ghosn as its chairman on Thursday, three days after he was arrested on allegations of underreporting his income to government regulators over a period of several years.

The board’s vote was a grim rebuke of Mr. Ghosn, one of the car industry’s most powerful leaders and the man who saved Nissan nearly 20 years ago.

The board met for four hours and issued a short statement that sought to telegraph stability even amid the sudden leadership upheaval. It emphasized that its alliance with Renault, Nissan’s largest shareholder, was a priority, and that it would consider having an outside adviser review its corporate governance and its director compensation system.

The board said it acted to confirm “that the longstanding Alliance partnership with Renault remains unchanged and that the mission is to minimize the potential impact and confusion on the day-to-day cooperation” with alliance partners.