Masuichi Midoro
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Okayama in 1886, he graduated from the English department of Waseda University in 1907 and joined the Asahi Shimbun in January 1908. There he became Managing Director in May 1936 and editor-in-chief in May 1943, and an adviser in April 1945. While at the paper he was involved in prewar aviation promotion through its aviation department, including planning the founding of a student aviation league using gliders. He left the Asahi Shimbun at the end of the war and devoted himself to land reclamation in his native Okayama. He was a newspaperman with no experience running an operating company.
Selection
After the war he joined the founders of Kominsha, which aided former aviation personnel, and in spring 1951 put forward a plan for a helicopter mail delivery company. He served as representative of the founders at the inaugural meeting on December 23, 1952, and became President of Japan Helicopter and Aeroplane Transports, established on December 27 that month with capital of ¥150 million. Kaheita Okazaki, who had come from the Bank of Japan and served as President of Ikegai Iron Works and Maruzen Oil, became Executive Vice President. In the fiscal year ended March 1955 the major shareholders were Nagoya Railroad with 31,200 shares and Japan Airlines with 21,550, while his former employer the Asahi Shimbun ranked only fourth with 14,520 of the 300,000 shares issued.
Initiatives
Over his nine years in office he shifted the business from helicopters to fixed-wing aircraft. It introduced the Douglas DC-3 in November 1955 and moved into passenger transport, changing its name to All Nippon Airways in December 1957. When the Aviation Council's December 1954 report replaced the policy of two national carriers with one and the government encouraged a merger, the company merged with Far East Airlines in March 1958, bringing capital to ¥600 million and unifying scheduled air services that had been split between east and west. In June 1961 it listed on the Second Sections of the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. Revenue grew from ¥0.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 1958 to ¥2.4 billion in the FY ended March 1961.
Career
Career
Asahi Shimbun
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jan 1908 | Joined |
| May 1936 | Managing Director |
| May 1943 | 編集総長 (translation pending) |
| Apr 1945 | Advisor |
All Nippon Airways
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Dec 1952 | President |
| 1961 | Stepped down as President |