Staff of Japan Airlines' (JAL) enter the company's Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner plane at New Tokyo international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo January 17, 2013. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Airlines Co <9201.T> was forced to turn around its Tokyo-bound flight from Moscow on Thursday due to a problem in the Boeing 787 jet's lavatory, a spokesman for the Japanese carrier said.

The incident on the 787 Dreamliner follows a spate of problems since its first flight in December 2009, including a battery fire that temporarily forced the grounding world-wide of Boeing's high-profile fleet.

JAL spokesman Takuya Shimoguchi said the toilet malfunction on the flight from Moscow was likely caused by an electronic glitch. The airline was working on repairs on the ground, he added.

The flight, carrying 141 passengers, departed Moscow on Wednesday evening and returned after about five hours, he said.

Shares in JAL, which made headlines this week by signing with Boeing rival Airbus for the next generation of long-haul jets, were up 2.1 percent on Thursday morning, outperforming the broader market.

(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)