Japan lobby head expresses hopes for GM comeback

TOKYO — The head of Japan’s biggest business lobby said Monday he was worried that General Motor’s imminent bankruptcy might hurt Japanese suppliers, but remained hopeful GM would emerge quickly from the restructuring.

Separately, government officials said they were ready to step in with any needed help for Japanese suppliers and sought to calm fears in a nation where the auto industry makes up a large part of the economy.

General Motors Corp. will file for bankruptcy protection later Monday in a deal that will give taxpayers a 60 percent ownership stake.

Fujio Mitarai, the head of business lobby Keidanren, acknowledged the fallout from GM’s bankruptcy would be great because the industry touches so many companies and jobs. Japanese automakers share many of the same suppliers with GM.

Mitarai, the former president of electronics maker Canon Inc., also noted that GM’s bankruptcy would be different from standard ones because Washington is providing support as GM restructures while going through bankruptcy court proceedings.

“I believe an agreement on a restructuring plan will be achieved quickly,” he said. “I hope GM’s recovery and comeback will be achieved as soon as possible.”

Toyota Motor Corp. President Katsuaki Watanabe reiterated his plans to continue Toyota’s joint-venture plant with GM in California, New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., or NUMMI, even after the bankruptcy.

Earlier, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said Japan will offer help if financial woes spread to the nation’s myriad of auto-parts suppliers. Japan has programs for government-backed loans and other assistance for such companies.

“We do not foresee any major confusion at this point,” Kawamura, the government’s top spokesman, told reporters.

Detroit-based GM has business ties with more than 100 Japanese suppliers, many of them small companies vulnerable to cash shortages.

Coverage of GM’s woes has topped the news for months in Japan, but the response from major automakers like Toyota and Honda Motor Co. has been relatively calm.

In the long run, a weakened GM is expected to provide a growth opportunity for Japanese automakers with their strength in smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles.

Toyota surpassed GM as the world’s biggest automaker by annual vehicle sales last year. Honda President Takeo Fukui has acknowledged, but only in response to a reporter’s question, that the problems of GM can be a big opportunity — in the long run.

Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn has also said the Japanese industry has been preparing for GM’s bad news.

Three years ago, Nissan, Japan’s No. 3 automaker which has an alliance with Renault SA of France, was in talks with GM about a possible alliance, but such talks soon broke down.

GM has struggled to penetrate Japan’s market, but is a leader in nearby China, the world’s second-biggest vehicle market, where its sales have been rising strongly.

Japanese executives have tried to keep a relative low profile about GM’s problems because of a history of “Japan-bashing” in the 1980s, when they were criticized as taking away American jobs with their exports to the U.S. Now, many Japanese cars are assembled in U.S. factories by American workers.

Japan’s executives and politicians also want to avoid confusion in the industry here when the nation is fighting its worst recession in postwar history. The plunge in U.S. auto sales since the financial crisis hit last year has sent Toyota into its worst loss since its 1937 founding.

GM’s bankruptcy follows the collapse of Chrysler LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in April, and hopes to emerge from its government-sponsored bankruptcy this week.

Some Japanese companies, including Aisin Seiki, have applied for a part of the U.S. Treasury Department’s $5 billion support program for suppliers. But it’s unclear whether they will get any of the money.

Toshihiro Nikai, minister of economy, trade and industry, said he was monitoring how GM’s bankruptcy may affect the Japan.

“Should the need arise, we will consider measures,” he said.