Japan govt says eyeing loan guarantees to JAL

TOKYO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The Japanese government is looking at guaranteeing bridge loans to struggling Japan Airlines Corp , Senior Vice Finance Minister Naoki Minezaki said on Wednesday.

Minezaki's comments come after a government source said on Monday that Japan is looking at guaranteeing about 700 billion yen ($7.9 billion) in funding to JAL, easing concerns that the carrier could run out of funds.

Debt-laden JAL, which is seeking its fourth state bailout since 2001, has warned it could face bankruptcy unless it addresses a pension shortfall of about 330 billion yen.

But a state-backed turnaround body will not be making a decision on whether to inject public funds into JAL until January.

Shares in JAL fell 2.9 percent to 101 yen, underperforming the Nikkei average, which declined 1.2 percent.

(Reporting by Sumio Ito; Writing by Kiyoshi Takenaka)

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