Jun. 1--TOKYO -- The Japanese government will closely monitor any fallout in Japan from the imminent bankruptcy of General Motors Corp. to avoid as much disruption to the Japanese automotive industry as possible, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said Monday.

The government plans to extend aid to Japanese suppliers of auto and other parts to GM to minimize the impact of the U.S. auto giant's bankruptcy, expected to be filed later in the day, sources close to the matter said separately.

"I've heard that (Japanese auto parts makers) have taken various steps" assuming that GM would enter the process of corporate rehabilitation, Kawamura said at a press conference, adding he has also heard that no real damage has occurred so far in areas such as payments.

According to private credit-research agency Tokyo Shoko Research, 114 Japanese companies have business ties with GM and its group firms, of which more than half are located in the Kanto region centering on Tokyo. Of the 114 firms, 70 are auto parts makers and other manufacturers.

The U.S. government said Sunday it will place GM under state management after its planned Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing Monday morning.

News of the largest nonfinancial corporate failure in U.S. history reached Tokyo on Monday morning.

The sources said the Japanese government plans to use funds in its emergency financial aid program for small and midsize firms that it has set aside as part of its economic stimulus measures.

"I don't expect a chaotic situation," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai told reporters, sounding optimistic about the aftermath of GM's filing for bankruptcy protection.

But he also said the government could be involved in rescuing affected companies through emergency measures such as the provision of safety-net loans through state-backed financial institutions.

Harufumi Mochizuki, the vice industry minister, said separately that many of the Japanese firms concerned had "factored in" the tough environment surrounding the U.S. carmaker. He denied any imminent possibility of a crisis.

Mochizuki expressed Japan's hope that the U.S. government's efforts to revamp GM "will be successful for the sake of the world economy." On a similar note, Vice Finance Minister Kazuyuki Sugimoto said the Chapter 11 filing would not have a major impact on the Japanese economy.

"As GM will be in the process of reconstruction, it's not that there will be no influence," Sugimoto, the Finance Ministry's top bureaucrat, said at a news conference.