JAL is a mess. It operated without regard to costs for many years, depending on assumptions that Japanese will fly with it because it’s JAL, however much it charges & however badly it treats them, & that the government will protect it, for example by allowing it a cosy duopoly in the domestic market – which has now become competitive. Ooops! Naomi-chan has stories about vastly overpaid cabin crew, for example (e.g. a daughter one of her mothers neighbours), appalling rudeness to Japanese passengers, & overt discrimination in favour of foreign passengers. Its shop off Oxford Street went from making fat profits by ripping off (in collusion with tour operators) Japanese who wanted souvenirs of a trip to the UK but were intimidated by British shops, to running at a huge loss for years when customers wised up but management stubbornly refused to change their business model. They closed it eventually, but far, far too late.

Nope, JAL deserves to go under, & it’d probably be good for Japanese air travellers. Let someone else pick up the pieces, & allow new carriers into the domestic market to keep ANA on its toes.