General Motors Asia Pacific (Japan) Ltd., a Japanese unit of General Motors Corp., said on Tuesday it will continue its business in the wake of the embattled US auto giant filing for bankruptcy protection.

"This is not liquidation or bankruptcy," the company's President Rick Brown was quoted by Kyodo News as saying.

"With the new GM as our parent company, we will continue our operations like before," he said.

Brown emphasized that he currently plans no job cuts at the Japanese unit.

He said GM will continue its joint venture in Canada with Suzuki Motor Corp. even after the US auto giant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying the joint venture company, CAMI Automotive Inc., will be part of the new GM.

GM filed for bankruptcy protection Monday with liabilities totaling US$172.81 billion, marking the largest nonfinancial bankruptcy in US history.

GM's bankruptcy is expected to affect Japanese auto part makers most due to possible defaults as well as reductions in their sales, analysts here has warned.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2009)