Japan Airlines chief to resign

The chairman of Japan Airlines, Isao Kaneko, is to resign at the end of the month over a string of safety lapses at the country’s largest carrier, it was announced today.

Company spokesman Teiji Murayama said Kaneko’s offer to resign on May 31 was accepted early today.

The company is having a board meeting later to determine what future role Kaneko would play at JAL.

The announcement came just a day after a JAL flight from New York to Tokyo with 355 passengers aboard made an emergency landing in northern Japan after a sudden drop in air pressure inside the cabin.

The carrier has been under mounting pressure amid a series of embarrassing safety lapses that drew widespread attention in January, when a JAL pilot in northern Japan attempted to take off without receiving approval from air traffic controllers.

The company, which for decades has been the country’s largest and most prestigious airline, was forced to make the humiliating admission that the mishaps were caused by a decline in safety awareness.