JAL TO RESUME OPERATIONS AS JAPAN GOVT PLEDGES SUPPORT

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- The government of Japan (GOJ) will give
the necessary support for Japan Airlines (JAL) until the completion of its
rehabilitation, said its Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and
Tourism, Seiji Maehara.

"As JAL constitutes an important part of the aviation network for Japan,
sufficient funding will be secured from the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative
Corporation (ETIC) of Japan and the Development Bank of Japan during its
rehabilitation period," he said in a statement mailed to Bernama through the
Japanese embassy here Tuesday.

There had been recent speculation that the debt-ridden JAL would file for
bankruptcy.

According to Maehara, JAL had made a formal application Tuesday for support
from the ETIC and filed a petition for the commencement of reorganisational
proceedings under the Corporate Reorganization Law at the Tokyo District Court.

"The law is not made for those companies in bankruptcy aiming for
liquidation but for those companies reforming and restructuring.

"As a result, on the same day the ETIC decided to provide support for JAL
and the court decided to commence proceedings for reorganisation," he said.

"Henceforth, JAL will take steady steps, fully respecting the point of view
of the public, to rehabilitate its business with the full support of the ETIC
through reorganisation proceedings that secure transparency and equity with the
court engagement," Maehara said.

He said Japan also sought the understanding and cooperation of foreign
governments and related organisations to enable JAL to continue its flight
operations without any interruption to its flights over those countries and to
takeoff and land at their airports.

As JAL continues its business operations, including flight operations
as normal, the usage of, and business with JAL could be continued without cause
for concern, he said.

The Japanese government also strongly requested JAL to work vigorously on
the improvement of its business and financial base with the utmost company-wide
effort, within a framework that employed both the supportive proceedings of the
ETIC and the proceedings of the Corporate Reorganisation Law, and to take all
possible measures to secure safe flight operations.
-- BERNAMA