UPDATE 1-Japanese firms line up for U.S. auto bailout - Nikkei

May 22 (Reuters) - More Japanese suppliers to General Motors Corp GM.N and Chrysler LLC have applied to a U.S. government program to guarantee the debts of the two ailing auto giants as the chances of GM following Chrysler into bankruptcy keeps rising, the Nikkei business daily said.

The U.S. program is designed to provide up to a total of $5 billion, or about 470 billion yen, in debt guarantees to auto suppliers, Nikkei said.

But since it is designed mainly for financially weak American firms, some believe that many Japanese applicants would be able to recover only 70 percent to 80 percent of their relevant accounts receivable, the paper said without citing sources.

Bridgestone Corp (5108.T) and Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd (5101.T), among others, have applied for guarantees, the paper said.

Nineteen Japanese companies have already applied or are considering applying for the program and their accounts receivable with the two U.S. automakers are estimated to reach a combined 20 billion yen or so, Nikkei said. ($1=94.21 Yen) (Reporting by R. Manikandan in Bangalore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)