Mitsuko Tottori admits that Japan still needs to do a lot more to get people like her into the CEO seat.
Tottori was named the first female president and CEO of Japan Airlines (JAL) in January, capping a career that began nearly four decades ago when she joined the airline as a flight attendant.
Her rise is a rare feat in a country where women still face major barriers to advancement.
“Japan is still on the cusp of achieving 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 Japan will soon become a place where people are not surprised when a woman becomes president.”
“We seriously want to increase the number of (female) managers, and I also think it’s important that women want to be active themselves, so I really hope we see more and more of them in the future,” she added.
Tottori, 59, started her career with the national airline in 1985. Thirty years later, in 2015, she became senior director of cabin crew and steadily rose through the ranks.
Her background differs greatly from her predecessors. It is extremely rare for a former flight attendant to rise to the top position. Of the last ten JAL presidents, seven graduated from the prestigious University of Tokyo. In contrast, Tottori visited 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 aviation maintenance, while the president previously started as a pilot.
One of the reasons JAL gave for promoting Tottori to a senior position was her “high level of insight and field experience in safe flight operations and service throughout her career”, and during the Covid-19 pandemic she provided a ‘significant contribution to maintaining safe operations’. .”
Tottori took up the top job on April 1, and her appointment comes as the airline deals with the fallout from the fiery collision of Flight 516 at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on January 2, as well as the fallout from an ongoing safety crisis at Boeing (BA). .
As it landed near Haneda, the Airbus A350 passenger plane collided with a coast guard plane on the runway, killing five people. All 379 people on JAL Flight 516 were evacuated safely, a feat that highlighted the impressive safety protocol followed by the crew, who were praised for their quick and level-headed responses.
Tottori says she saw the accident happen on TV. She praised the crew and passengers for the quick evacuation.
“Well, first of all, I think the cooperation from our customers has been tremendous. They really calmly followed the flight crew’s instructions, which I think was a big factor. In addition, I think it is important that the results of the (safety) training are fully realized,” she says.
Tottori said she would make safety a priority. The year she joined the airline, JAL Flight 123 from Tokyo to Osaka crashed, killing 520 of the 524 on board in what remains the deadliest aircraft accident in aviation history.
Shukor Yusof, founder of Endau Analytics, which tracks the aviation industry, said safety is of paramount importance in the aviation industry and Tottori’s experience would help further improve those protocols.
“Japan has an excellent ‘safety culture’ compared to many other countries, even developed countries. Unfortunately, JAL has had a number of nasty accidents before (Flight 123 in 1985 and the last in January 2024). “I really think a woman, especially one with a track record as a cabin crew, can help improve the already high safety protocols at JAL,” he said.
Tottori’s appointment comes as Japan Inc struggles to tackle the 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 – down nine places from the year before and well below the other developed countries in the Group of Seven.
Regionally, Japan ranks worst in Asia for gender equality, coming last after Myanmar and Fiji.
According to the Global Gender Gap report, only 12.9% of senior and managerial positions were held by women in 2023.
“There are female employees who struggle with their career steps or are experiencing life events. I hope I can give them courage or push them to take their next step after seeing my appointment as president,” Tottori said in January.
The government aims to place women in 30% of senior management positions at major listed companies by 2030 and says it will support efforts to build a pipeline for the advancement of women.
But change from within is slow.
Dr. Seijiro Takeshita, a professor of management and information at Shizuoka University, said Japan’s business community has not done enough to ensure there are women in the executive pipeline who can be promoted to C-suite positions.
“Traditions, practices and cultures are a hard stone to crack. But it will happen,” he says. “For a woman to become CEO of the leading Japanese company is an incredibly positive sign.”
Tottori’s appointment, he said, would be viewed “very positively” by the public and stakeholders, especially given that she followed a “non-elite” path and rose through the ranks of the company.
“The cabin crew becoming CEOs is very positively received – especially by JAL employees, who would much rather see their ‘comrades’ become CEOs than a CEO of other companies, bureaucrats or ex-politicians,” Takeshita said.
JAL has recovered quite well from the Covid-19 pandemic, benefiting from the strong tourist interest in the country, according to Yusof.
“That said, its domestic competitor ANA (All Nippon Airways) is also doing equally well. The continued weakness of the yen is indeed a boon for tourists, but on the other hand, fewer Japanese are going abroad,” he said.
