Susumu Yamaji
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
A bureaucrat who had served as Vice-Minister of Transport, he joined Japan Airlines as a full-time adviser in 1985 and became President in December that year. Japan Airlines was then dependent on Ministry of Transport approval for fare changes, and in 1979 it had applied for an average 27.4% increase in domestic fares. International routes accounted for 70% of revenue, and the exchange rate used was still fixed at ¥296 to the dollar. It was an appointment that moved the top civil servant of the supervising ministry to the top of the company it supervised.
Selection
On August 12, 1985, Flight 123 from Tokyo to Osaka crashed into Mount Osutaka, killing 520 people. The cause was the failure of the rear pressure bulkhead, owing to a flaw in Boeing's repair after a tail-strike incident. President Yasune Takagi and Executive Vice President Nao Machida resigned to take responsibility, and in December that year Kanebo Chairman Junji Ito was sent in as Vice Chairman, Yamaji became President, and JAL Trading President Matsuo Toshimitsu became Executive Vice President. The board had decided on the policy of full privatization on the same day as the crash.
Initiatives
Full privatization of Japan Airlines was achieved in November 1987, following the passage of the related legislation in September that year. That same year, the company's forward exchange contracts came to light: over 11 years, more than $3.6 billion had been booked at a rate of ¥183, when the market rate was then in the ¥130s to the dollar. On the corporate culture, Shigenobu Tanaka, who became a director in June 1986 and resigned in March 1987, remarked that keeping failures from getting outside was considered good, and that those who pursued the truth and insisted on doing things properly were the most resented. The world's top position in passenger and cargo traffic, held since 1983, also passed to another carrier in 1988.
Career
Career
Japan Airlines
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Dec 1985 | President |
| Jun 1990 | Stepped down as President |