Political moves by the governors of Kagoshima and Niigata over the last week, one sudden and one that was mostly expected, are likely to affect plans in both prefectures to restart or continue running nuclear reactors.

On Wednesday, Kyodo News reported that Kagoshima Gov. Satoshi Mitazono's call for two reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai plant to be shut down over safety concerns would be rejected. Kyushu Electric said it expected to formally reply to the governor soon.

Mitazono, elected last month on an anti-nuclear platform, on Friday formally requested that the reactors at the Sendai plant be halted — a move unprecedented for a governor.