Business Notes

A decade after turning to the U.S. government for a rescue, Chrysler may again be looking for help in weathering a financial crisis -- this time in Japan. Mitsubishi, Chrysler's longtime Japanese partner, is reportedly prepared to put $200 million to $300 million into the U.S. automaker. In return, Mitsubishi would get more control over the Diamond-Star Motors joint venture that builds cars for both companies at a new plant in Normal, Ill. For Chrysler the deal would mean a respite from a recession that has cut sales more than 20% and left the company facing a first-quarter loss estimated at $250 million to $300 million.

Analysts in the U.S. have suggested for some time that Chrysler was a prime candidate for a restructuring that would include taking in a foreign partner. Last year chairman Lee Iacocca tried hard but failed to arrange a deal with the Italian automaker Fiat. It's certainly easier to picture him with an Italian partner than with a Japanese one. Iacocca has stridently attacked Japan's "unfair" trade practices for years, ventilating his views most recently in a letter to President Bush and during an Oval Office meeting. Chrysler ad campaigns have repeatedly challenged the reputation for quality that Japanese products have gained with American consumers. So what about the reports of a Mitsubishi bailout? Chairman Lee has been uncharacteristically silent.