The government intervention into the affairs of Japan Airlines Corp. will "leave a stain on Japanese history" and risk crippling the nation's aviation industry, according to former economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka.
In a recent interview, the key architect of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic and postal reforms suggested Japan should concentrate on creating a single powerful "megacarrier" with rival All Nippon Airways Co. to survive intensifying global competition.
"The only way to justify the government intervention in JAL would be if the opportunity is used to beef up the industry as a whole," said Takenaka, now a professor at Keio University in Tokyo.