Mitsuko Tottori admits Japan needs to do a lot more to get people like her to the CEO post.
Tottori was named the first female president and chief executive of Japan Airlines (JAL) in January, capping a career that began nearly 40 years ago when she joined the airline as a flight attendant.
Her advancement is a rare achievement in a country where women still face major barriers to promotion.
“Japan is still in the process of setting the original goal of increasing the number of female managers,” she told CNN in an interview at the airline’s headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday. “I hope that Japan will soon become a place where people are not surprised when a woman becomes president.”
“We want to significantly increase the number of (female) managers and, moreover, I think it is important that women themselves want to be active, so I really hope to see more and more of them in the future,” she added.
Tottori, 59, began her career with the national airline in 1985. Thirty years later, in 2015, she became senior director of flight attendants and steadily rose through the ranks.
Her background is significantly different from that of her predecessors. It is extremely rare for a former flight attendant to ascend to the top job. Of the last 10 JAL presidents, seven graduated from the prestigious University of Tokyo. In contrast, Tottori attended the two-year Kwassui Women’s Junior College in Nagasaki, part of a network of institutions that has played an important role in women’s higher education.
Tottori’s predecessor had a background in aircraft maintenance, while the president before that started as a pilot.
Among the reasons JAL cited for promoting Tottori to a senior position were her “high level of insight and field experience in safe flight operations and service over the course of her career,” and during the Covid-19 pandemic she has made a “significant Contribution to maintaining safe operations.”
Tottori took over the top job on April 1, and her appointment comes as the airline grapples with the fallout from the fiery collision of Flight 516 at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Jan. 2, as well as the fallout from an ongoing safety crisis at Boeing (BA ) deals. .
Major accident
While landing in Haneda, the Airbus A350 passenger plane collided with a Coast Guard aircraft on the runway, killing five people. All 379 people on JAL Flight 516 were safely evacuated, a feat that highlights the impressive safety record of the crew, who were praised for their quick and prudent response.
Tottori says she watched the accident on television. She praised the crew and passengers for the quick evacuation.
“Well, first of all, I think the collaboration from our customers has been tremendous. They followed the flight crew’s instructions really calmly, which I think was a big factor. I also think it is important that the results of the (safety) training are fully implemented,” she said.
Tottori said she will prioritize safety. The year she joined the airline, JAL Flight 123 from Tokyo to Osaka crashed, killing 520 of the 524 passengers on board. It remains the deadliest single aircraft accident in aviation history.
Shukor Yusof, founder of Endau Analytics, which tracks the aviation industry, said safety is of utmost importance in the aviation industry and Tottori’s experience would help further improve these protocols.
“Japan has an excellent ‘safety culture’ compared to many countries, even developed countries. Unfortunately, JAL has had a few bad accidents before (Flight 123 in 1985 and the most recent one in January 2024). I think a woman, especially one with a track record as cabin crew, can help improve the already high safety protocols at JAL,” he said.
Gender inequality
Tottori’s appointment comes at a time when Japan Inc. is struggling to close a glaring gender gap and improve diversity at top companies.
Japan ranks 125th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Gender Gap Index – dropping nine places from last year and well behind other developed Group of Seven countries.
In Asia, Japan performs the worst regionally in terms of gender parity, coming in last behind Myanmar and Fiji.
According to the Global Gender Gap report, in 2023, only 12.9% of leadership and leadership positions were held by women.
“There are workers who are struggling with their career moves or life events. I hope that after seeing my appointment as president, I can give them the courage or persuade them to take their next step,” Tottori said in January.
The government aims to have women fill 30% of senior positions at large listed companies by 2030 and says it will support efforts to build a women’s advancement pipeline.
But the inner change took place only slowly.
Dr. Seijiro Takeshita, a professor of management and information at Shizuoka University, said Japanese companies had not done enough to ensure there were women in management who could be promoted to senior positions.
“Traditions, practices and cultures are a hard stone to crack. But it’s getting there,” he said. “Having a woman become CEO of Japan’s leading company is an incredibly positive sign.”
He said Tottori’s appointment would be received “very positively” by the public and stakeholders, particularly given that she followed a “non-elite” path and rose through the company’s ranks.
“The position of cabin crew as CEO is very well received – especially by JAL employees, who would much rather see their ‘comrades’ become CEO than them becoming CEOs of other companies or bureaucrats or former politicians,” Takeshita said .
According to Yusof, JAL has recovered fairly well after the Covid-19 pandemic, benefiting from high tourist interest in the country.
“However, domestic competitor ANA (All Nippon Airways) is also doing similarly well. In fact, the yen’s continued weakness is a boon for tourists, but on the other hand, fewer Japanese are traveling abroad,” he said.
— CNN’s Junko Ogura, Mayumi Maruyama and Juliana Liu contributed reporting.
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