TOKYO, Japan: In a major encouragement to working women, Japan Airlines has named a woman as its next president for the first time, a rare appointment for a major Japanese firm and global airline.
Mitsuko Tottori joined the flag carrier as a flight attendant way back in 1985, before being elevated to the position. She hoped her promotion would give other women the courage to pursue the next step in their careers.
It is to mention here that very few major airlines have women in senior leadership positions. Ms Tottori will replace Yuji Akasaka as president on April 1 while Mr Akasaka will replace Yoshiharu Ueki as chairman, the airline’s most senior position.
The appointments come weeks after a Japan Airlines plane rammed into a smaller coastguard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
A “miraculous” evacuation ensured all 379 passengers and crew on board the plane survived, but five of the six crew on the coastguard plane perished.
Ms Tottori worked in frontline roles before becoming a director for cabin crew in 2015. She said she would prioritise safety. “I have spent most of my career at the frontline of safety and customer services – that is the cabinet attendants’ division,” she told media at a press conference.
“Operational safety is the foundation of airlines. I will continue to demonstrate my firm commitment to this principle,” she said.
She also said there were women struggling to progress in their careers, but hoped her appointment “can encourage them, or give them the courage to take the next step”.
A survey by the aviation specialist website FlightGlobal found that, at the end of 2022, there were 12 women leading the top 100 airlines across the globe, up from six a year before.
They include Marjan Rintel at Dutch carrier KLM, Annette Mann at Austrian Airlines and Aer Lingus’s Lynne Embleton. Earlier in January, Joanna Geraghty was appointed chief executive of JetBlue Airways, becoming the first female to head a major airline in the US. It is also rare for women to lead major companies in Japan.
Japan government wants a third of leadership positions at major businesses to go to women by 2030, after failing to achieve the goal by 2020. It is also urging businesses to appoint at least one woman as an executive by 2025.
