Honda says not considering new lending to Takata

TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co. said on Monday it was not considering fresh lending to Takata Corp, the auto parts supplier at the center of a global recall over faulty airbag inflators, either on its own or as part of a group of Japanese automakers. "We are not considering joint lending (to Takata)," a Honda spokesman said, following a report by Japan's Sankei newspaper that automakers were discussing fresh financial support for the supplier. Takata in November was fined $70 million by regulators in the United States, where the majority of deaths and recalls involving the inflators occurred, and where the manufacturer faces class action lawsuits related to the issue. (Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Richard Pullin)