Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s Senior Vice Transport Minister Kiyomi Tsujimoto today asked banks to provide bridging loans to Japan Airlines Corp., according to three people familiar with the situation.

Development Bank of Japan, Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. representatives attended a meeting at the Transport Ministry today in Tokyo, said the people, who declined to be identified as the discussions are private. No figure was decided upon, they added.

JAL, Asia’s biggest carrier by sales, has sought support from the government and lenders as it heads for a fourth loss in five years on slumping international travel. The airline is seeking a 200 billion yen ($2.2 billion) bridge loan, the Mainichi newspaper said last month.

Tsujimoto declined to comment when asked today in Tokyo if she was meeting with lenders. JAL spokeswoman Sze Hunn Yap, Mizuho spokeswoman Masako Shiono, Mitsubishi UFJ spokesman Takashi Miwa and a DBJ spokesman declined to comment. Chika Togawa, a spokeswoman at Sumitomo Mitsui, wasn’t immediately available for comment.

JAL yesterday said it would cut 16 domestic and international routes to pare losses. The carrier is also set to begin talks with retirees on cutting pension payments.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kiyotaka Matsuda in Tokyo at kmatsuda@bloomberg.net; Takahiko Hyuga in Tokyo at thyuga@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 5, 2009 23:38 EST