Renault¡¯s push against two of Nissan¡¯s appointments to the board effectively pits the Japanese carmaker¡¯s top shareholder against its biggest creditor.

The French carmaker, which owns roughly 36% of Nissan but can only exercise 15% of voting rights, plans to abstain from voting for the reappointment of Motoo Nagai, an influential outside director, as well as new nominee Junichi Shinbo at the annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The two are former bankers from Mizuho Financial Group, Nissan¡¯s biggest creditor, bringing into question their independence, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. Nissan, which has been struggling since the 2018 ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, has ?4.4 trillion ($27.3 billion) in debt and ratings agencies have cut its creditworthiness status to junk.

Nagai, 72, is the only director serving on the nomination, compensation and audit committees, giving him sway over the appointment of executives at Nissan. Nagai supported the merger talks between Nissan and Honda in 2024, which were abandoned after they failed to agree on a structure. As statutory auditor from 2014 to 2019, Nagai was closely involved in the events leading to Ghosn¡¯s arrest, and then emerged as a key player after transitioning to the board seven years ago.

¡°Renault is stepping in as a major shareholder and trying to exert governance influence,¡± said Takeshi Miyao, an analyst at automotive consultancy Carnorama.

Nagai didn¡¯t respond to a request for comment. Shinbo couldn¡¯t immediately be reached for comment. Representatives for Renault and Nissan declined to comment. In a letter to shareholders, Andrew House, the Nissan director serving as chair of the nomination committee, said the committee ¡°concluded that Mr. Nagai¡¯s independence is not compromised and that his reelection is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.¡±

Given that Renault and Nissan agreed in 2023 to cap their voting rights in each other at 15% following their renegotiated alliance agreement, it¡¯s unclear whether Renault¡¯s abstention alone would prevent Nagai¡¯s reappointment. Moreover, the final tally isn¡¯t guaranteed, given that the annual meeting hasn¡¯t happened yet and shareholders could vote their shares either way this week. A majority is needed for board proposals to pass.

Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co., which advise institutional investors on proposals ahead of annual meetings, have recommended that shareholders vote against Nagai¡¯s reappointment. ¡°Nominee Motoo Nagai is not independent,¡± Glass Lewis wrote in its report, published June 3.

Renault¡¯s concerns over Nagai center on his links to Mizuho and decade-plus association with Nissan, which brings into question his independence as a director, according to the people. Under the 2023 agreement, the portion of...