Internal struggles have long been the norm at Japan Airlines Corp., but the management row that surfaced in February goes beyond the usual factional strife.

The Feb. 10 revolt by four top executives at the air carrier's international operations unit stalled management efforts to draw up a midterm business plan for the period starting in fiscal 2006. The plan, which was supposed to be released by the end of February, was postponed to Thursday.

The four board members at Japan Airlines International Co. demanded the resignation of the group's president, Toshiyuki Shinmachi, and two other executives, with about 400 middle managers signing a petition calling for the removal of the executives.