TOKYO (Reuters) &<51; Japan Airlines pleaded on Thursday for a government bailout, but the new transport minister withheld support on concerns that the carrier&S217;s cost-cutting plans would not go far enough.

The request by the chief executive of Japan Airlines, Haruka Nishimatsu, for a capital injection from the state came as the carrier&S217;s shares tumbled 16 percent to a record low, hit by media reports that lenders might seek to break up the company and that the company had asked for a bailout.

Japan Airlines, weighed down by $15 billion of debt and headed for its second consecutive annual loss, is being wooed by Delta Air Lines and a rival group led by American Airlines, which are offering capital in return for closer business ties.

Japan Airlines has been scrambling to put together a restructuring plan to submit to the government this month, a condition of a state guarantee on a billion-dollar loan earlier this year.

The likelihood of further state support has been thrown into doubt by a change in government in August that brought the Democratic Party to power, ending the rule of the Liberal Democratic Party, which had supported state help for the airline.

The transport minister, Seiji Maehara, met with Mr. Nishimatsu on Thursday. He reiterated that he did not want the airline to go bankrupt but said he was not ready to approve a request for the state to prop up the carrier by buying shares.

Mr. Maehara said he wanted to finish restructuring plans by the end of October payday loans for bad credit.

Japan Airlines is seeking about $2.7 billion through a mixture of equity and debt to meet its financing needs through the financial year-end in March. Bankers have said they will not lend more to the company unless there is deeper state involvement, either through loan guarantees or a capital increase.

Mr. Nishimatsu, talking to reporters after meeting Mr. Maehara, said Japan Airlines needed government help but did not give an exact amount.

&S220;Considering debt repayments planned ahead, we thought asking for the public fund injection would make the most sense,&S221; he told reporters, adding that the company was not considering a breakup. &S220;If we were a manufacturer, then that could have been a choice. But for us, an airline company, that&S217;s not an option.&S221;

Yoshihisa Miyamoto, an analyst at Okasan Securities, said investors were becoming increasingly skeptical about Japan Airlines&S217; future.

&S220;It won&S217;t be able to stay alive as it is,&S221; Mr. Miyamoto said. &S220;It&S217;s got to sharply downsize operations or sell off businesses in bits and pieces to other companies. Our image of JAL as Japan&S217;s national carrier no longer exists.&S221;

Japan Appears Reluctant as Airline Seeks a Bailout