After nearly five years of suspension, Japan will resume official yen loans to Colombia to help the Latin American country rebuild its shattered economy, government sources said Tuesday.

The decision will be announced at a meeting of aid donor countries and organizations to be held Friday in Madrid to discuss international assistance efforts for Colombia, the sources said.

Mitsuo Sakaba, deputy director general of the Foreign Ministry's Central and South American affairs bureau, will head the Japanese delegation to the Madrid conference.