29 March 2011
Last updated at 01:04 ET
Speculation is growing that the Japanese government may start talks to nationalise Tokyo Electric Power, which owns the Fukushima nuclear plant.
A discussion about bailing out Tepco was possible, cabinet minister Koichiro Gemba told Reuters.
But Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the government was not currently considering a nationalisation.
Tepco’s future has been in question after an earthquake struck Japan causing a radiation scare at Fukushima.
A spokesman for Tepco told the Reuters news agency that he was unaware of any plan for nationalisation.
“Our first and biggest priority at this moment is to prevent the nuclear power plant accident from worsening further,” Hajime Motojuku said.
However, The Yomiuri Daily has reported that some members of the government proposed a plan for the state to take a majority stake in the company and help it pay for damages from the nuclear accident.
Shares fall
A flood of sell orders caused Tepco shares to stop being traded temporarily on Tuesday.
A day earlier the shares dropped to their lowest level in three decades.
“Although details cannot be seen such as how exactly the government is going to nationalise the company, as long as there are concerns that Tepco may be nationalised, investors don’t want to hold the stock,” said Hajime Nakajima of Cosmo Securities.
Tepco has said it will need to raise about $25bn (£15.6bn) to shore up its finances.
Some Japanese banks have said they are in talks to give the company emergency loans.