Mitsuko Tottori
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
In 1985 she joined an airline in the former Japan Air System group as a flight attendant, coming from the Japan Air System side that Japan Airlines integrated with in 2002. She joined the executive ranks in April 2020 as Executive Officer and head of the Cabin Attendants Division, then rose four steps in three years: Managing Executive Officer in April 2022, Senior Managing Executive Officer in April 2023 and Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer in June that year. The safety and service she oversaw as head of cabin attendants became her management remit as it was.
Selection
In April 2024 she succeeded Yuji Akasaka as Representative Director, President and Executive Officer, and Group CEO, becoming Japan Airlines' first female President. In the year before her appointment, the fiscal year ended March 2024, revenue was ¥1,651.8 billion and operating profit ¥140.9 billion, coming right after the return to profit in the FY ended March 2023 following two straight years of losses during the pandemic. "I don't think in terms of being a man or a woman. I want to do it my own way," she said on taking office, naming as her strength drawing out the abilities of people who have what she lacks.
Initiatives
She set out a structural reform to raise the share of profit from non-airline businesses to 50%, with expansion of the mileage-based ecosystem and digital services as the concrete measures. In November 2024 she said the situation regarding the expansion of non-airline businesses set out in the mid-term management plan was not one in which the company could feel very comfortable. After receiving a strict safety warning from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in May 2024, she put rebuilding the basics first, saying safety comes above all. Revenue rose to ¥1,844.0 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2025, and to ¥2,012.5 billion with operating profit of ¥207.3 billion in the FY ended March 2026.
Career
Career
Japan Airlines
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1985 | Joined |
| Apr 2020 | 執行役員 客室本部長 (translation pending) |
| Apr 2022 | Managing Executive Officer |
| Apr 2023 | Senior Managing Executive Officer |
| Jun 2023 | Representative Director, Senior Managing Executive Officer |
| Apr 2024 | Representative Director, President, Executive Officer, Group CEO |