Mitsuko Tottori, a former flight attendant, has become the first woman and the first former flight attendant to be appointed president of Japan Airlines Co. (JAL).
Tottori, who was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1964, graduated from junior college and joined Toa Domestic Airlines in 1985. The company later merged with JAL. For the first three decades of her career, she served as a flight attendant on domestic and international routes.
In 2020, Tottori became the head of the cabin crew department, overseeing 8,000 flight attendants. She had planned to convey to her juniors the satisfaction and depth of flight work, but her three-year tenure coincided entirely with the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, Tottori spent almost every day talking with her subordinates online about shifting grounded employees into other kinds of jobs. This strategy protected the employment of her colleagues while continuing to provide value to society.
Tottori believes that her mission as president is to create an environment where all employees can thrive.
When she joined the company, the Equal Employment Opportunity Law had just been enacted. Many female flight attendants, who were still called stewardesses then, would leave the company upon marriage or childbirth. There was also no re-employment system in place.
Having experienced that era herself, Tottori is now in a position of leadership. She hopes to "embolden and support female employees who are struggling with their career paths by showing them that even someone like me can become president."
She is determined to set an example that is consistent with her words.