Japan Airlines CEO Takes Pay Cut Over Drinking Pilots

Japan Airlines’ senior management is facing some serious punishment over recent incidents involving drinking pilots. Yes, you read that right. Business works differently in Japan than in the United States, eh?

Japan Airlines executives punished over pilot actions

The Japan Times reports that Japan Airlines’ two most senior executives will have their pay docked, following another incident of pilots being above the “legal” drinking limit for flying. Specifically, CEO Mitsuko Tottori and Chairman Yuji Akasaka will have their pay cut by 30% for a period of two months. Furthermore, Akasaka will have his role of overseeing safety measures at the airline revoked.

Three other managers in Japan Airlines’ flight operations and safety management department have been given “urgent consideration” for disciplinary action.

This isn’t the first time that Japan Airlines executives have had their pay docked over pilots drinking inappropriately. In 2018, several managers received a 20% pay cut for a period of three months, following a similar incident.

Of course this level of accountability all very much reflects Japanese business culture, and of senior leaders taking responsibility when things go wrong. Optics also matter. It reminds me of how in 2009, when Japan Airlines was losing money, the CEO would take the bus to work, and would have lunch in the employee cafeteria with everyone else.

Japan Airlines’ issue with drinking pilots

Over the years, Japan Airlines has had a series of flight delays and cancelations due to pilots being over the legal limit for alcohol. Nowadays, Japan Airlines pilots aren’t allowed to fly if they’ve had alcohol within 12 hours of a flight, or if they have any alcohol left in their system by the time they get to the airport.

The most recent incident (which presumably caused this punishment) happened in December 2024, when a Japan Airlines flight from Melbourne to Tokyo was delayed by over three hours, after two pilots were above the alcohol limit. They had both self-administered tests at their hotels a couple of hours before departure, and found they had alcohol in their system. So the flight had to be delayed until the breath test showed no alcohol in their system.

Prior to that, in April 2024, a Japan Airlines flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled after a pilot was drunk and misbehaving during the layover, to the point that the police was called.

Perhaps the worst incident of all was in 2018, when a Japan Airlines flight from London to Tokyo was canceled after a pilot was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.189. At the time, the maximum blood alcohol level for pilots was 0.02, so he was at nearly 10x that limit.

So, does Japan Airlines specifically have a problem with drinking pilots, or what’s going on? It’s hard to know for sure, though a few thoughts:

• Japan Airlines is hardly alone with having situations where pilots get in trouble for being over the limit to fly
• Japan Airlines has a zero tolerance policy for alcohol nowadays, which is much stricter than in most other countries
• Despite how “proper” many aspects of Japanese culture seem, a lot of Japanese people definitely like to “let loose” when given the chance, and I imagine the career of a pilot provides a lot of tempting opportunities for that

Bottom line

Japan Airlines’ CEO and Chairman will each be taking a 30% pay cut for a period of two months, following yet another incident where pilots were found to have alcohol in their system. They’re also facing additional punishments, including the Chairman no longer overseeing safety measures at the airline. Business in Japan certainly works a bit differently than in the United States…

What do you make of Japan Airlines’ senior managers taking pay cuts over this pilot situation?