Yuji Akasaka
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined in 1987 as an engineer and, after posts including head of the production planning group at the Haneda maintenance division, became an Executive Officer in April 2014 and a Managing Executive Officer in April 2016, coming up through maintenance. He became President and Executive Officer in April 2018 and Representative Director and President in June that year. Following Masaru Onishi, also from maintenance, and Yoshiharu Ueki, a former pilot, he made it three successive post-bankruptcy leaders drawn from the maintenance and flight operations front lines.
Selection
In June 2018 he succeeded Yoshiharu Ueki as President. Japan Airlines had relisted on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange two years and eight months after its 2010 bankruptcy, and its corporate reorganization proceedings had concluded in March 2011. Operating profit ranged between the ¥160 billion and ¥200 billion levels for seven years, from ¥195.2 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2013 to ¥176.2 billion in the FY ended March 2019. What he inherited was the question of how to direct the earning power restored by the rebuilding toward the next business.
Initiatives
In 2018 the company set up a preparatory company for a medium- and long-haul international low-cost carrier, renaming it ZIPAIR Tokyo in 2019. With COVID-19 in 2020, international passenger traffic all but vanished; revenue for the fiscal year ended March 2021 fell 65%, from ¥1,385.9 billion the previous year to ¥481.2 billion, and the net loss reached ¥301.9 billion. Losses continued with a net loss of ¥177.5 billion in the FY ended March 2022. The company secured liquidity through financing that included government-guaranteed loans and avoided a second legal restructuring. It returned to the black with net income of ¥34.4 billion in the FY ended March 2023.
Career
Career
Japan Airlines
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1987 | Joined |
| Dec 2001 | General Manager, Production Planning Group, Haneda Maintenance Division |
| Apr 2014 | Executive Officer |
| Apr 2016 | Managing Executive Officer |
| Apr 2018 | President, Executive Officer |
| Jun 2018 | Representative Director, President |
| Apr 2023 | Representative Director, President, Group CEO |
| Apr 2024 | Representative Director, Chairman |
| Apr 2024 | Stepped down as President |
| Apr 2025 | Chairman |