Japanese govt on board US bullet-train expansion plan

TOKYO - Japan may give financial backing to Central Japan Railway Co and other bullet-train makers bidding for US high-speed rail projects to help them compete with Chinese and European suppliers.

"We will support them," Noriyoshi Yamagami, head of the transport ministry's global railway strategy section, said in an interview on Wednesday. State-owned Japan Bank for International Cooperation may provide financing, he said.

The government will ensure that Japanese companies don't compete against each other on specific US projects by focusing support on a single bid per line, Yamagami said.