. >>> kagoshima prefecture's new governor on friday will ask the operator of a nuclear power plant in the prefecture to suspend operation so safety can be re-evaluated. the two reactors in southwestern japan went online last year. the first under new regulations imposed by the government. satoshi mitazono took office next month. during the election he promised he would take the plant offline to check safety. residents have been uneasy since april when damaging earthquakes hit neighboring kumamato prefecture. he visited the sendai plant to study evacuations measures in the event of an emergency. mitazono will ask the utility to keep the public informed during an accident. kyushu electric power had already planned to take the reactors off line for regular inspections that start in fall and winter of this year. as governors have no legal authority to shut down reactors, observers are keen to see how the nuclear operator will react to mitazono's request. >>> the operator of the crippled nuclear plant in fukushima wants to restart similar reactors in another part of japan. niigata prefectu

prefecture to re-evaluate its safety. the plant's two reactors went online last year. they were the first to do so under stricter regulations established after the 2011 fukushima a disaster. the kagoshima governor met with kyushu electric power company y president on friday. >> translator: residents have been uneasy since earthquakes damaged neighboring kumamoto. so i want to ask you to suspend the plant's operations and re-evaluate its safety. >> kumamoto prefecture was hit by a series of earthquakes in april that killed more than 80 people and destroyed scores of buildings. he asked the local power company to help draw up evacuation plans in the event of an emergency. uriu vowed his company would address the matter. the the two reactors at the plant are currently scheduled to go offline for inspections starting in october. governors in japan have no legal authority to shut down a nuclear plant. japan has 42 reactors at 16 power plants, and many plant operators have applied for screenings under the new requirements. so far, the nuclear regulation authority has approved the restart of seven reactors at three plants. two of the reactors that have won approval are at the sendai plant. fo