TOKYO: Japan Airlines shares nose-dived Tuesday, hammered by deepening fears that investors will see their stakes wiped out as the spectre of bankruptcy looms large for Asia's biggest carrier.

Investors dumped JAL on reports that the debt-ridden airline is likely to be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is preparing for a court-backed bankruptcy filing, possibly next week.

JAL's share price plunged by the daily limit of 30 yen, or almost 45 percent, to 37 yen, with the stock untraded amid a glut of sell orders. The shares have tumbled 72 percent over the past three months.

"Delisting now looks almost certain, so selling won't stop," SMBC Friend Research Center analyst Mitsuru Miyazaki told Dow Jones Newswires.

The state-backed body overseeing JAL's turnaround efforts wants shares in JAL taken off the stock market so that investors share the burden of the company's woes, the Nikkei business daily and other media reported.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama suggested Tuesday that shareholders should share the pain, saying they had "certain responsibilities."

Transport minister Seiji Maehara reportedly met the heads of JAL's creditor banks Tuesday to ask them to back a plan for JAL to undergo bankruptcy proceedings with public financial support.

JAL's creditor banks are expected to be asked to forgive loans worth several hundred billion yen.

The airline is seeking its fourth government bailout since 2001 to enable it to keep flying in the face of mounting debts.

The Yomiuri newspaper reported that the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp would provide a capital injection of 400 billion yen for JAL as part of a restructuring plan that would involve the airline filing for bankruptcy.

It said that in addition the state-owned Development Bank would offer loans of 400 billion yen to help the carrier keep flying.

Earlier this month the government announced it was doubling a state-backed loan to JAL to 200 billion yen.

The carrier, which lost about 1.5 billion dollars in the six months to September, has said it plans thousands of job cuts and a drastic reduction in routes as part of its efforts to return to profitability.

Kyodo News reported Monday that JAL is poised to slash 15,600 jobs, or about 30 percent of its group workforce, over three years in an effort to return to profitability.

JAL has been offered financial assistance by both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which are competing to take a stake in the Japanese company and increase their share of the lucrative Asian market.

JAL reportedly favours Delta over American for a tie-up, although the Nikkei reported at the weekend that it may forgo a deal with either carrier for now.

The government and the turnaround body are said to be considering tapping Kazuo Inamori, the 77-year-old honorary chairman of electronics maker Kyocera Corp., to become chief executive of JAL during the restructuring process.