Japan’s two largest airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, have seen senior female executives appointed as International Civil Aviation Organization Global Ambassadors, a high-profile new advocacy role that positions Japan at the forefront of global efforts to promote safe, sustainable and inclusive air transport.
Japan’s First ICAO Global Ambassadors Take the Stage
The International Civil Aviation Organization has confirmed the first cohort of Global Ambassadors under its newly launched ICAO Global Ambassadors Programme, with Japan represented by two senior aviation leaders, Tomoko Hoya of ANA Holdings and Kumiko Miyasaka of Japan Airlines. Their selection, recommended by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau and announced by both airlines on February 20, underscores the country’s growing influence in international aviation policy and talent development.
Under the programme, ICAO Global Ambassadors are tasked with promoting aviation’s role in connecting communities, driving economic growth and advancing sustainable development, while also inspiring the next generation of aviation professionals. They join a diverse group of experts from around the world who will support ICAO’s long term vision for a safe, secure and environmentally responsible global air transport system.
Hoya and Miyasaka are the first individuals to be designated ICAO Global Ambassadors in Japan, marking a symbolic milestone for the nation’s aviation sector. Their appointments also align with ICAO’s emphasis on engaging youth and women in aviation careers, as set out in its Strategic Plan for 2026 to 2050 and its Next Generation of Aviation Professionals initiatives.
Who Are Japan’s New Global Ambassadors
Tomoko Hoya serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at ANA Holdings, the parent company of All Nippon Airways and several affiliated carriers. In this role she oversees group sustainability strategy, including initiatives on climate action, sustainable aviation fuel adoption and broader environmental, social and governance policies that have helped make ANA one of Asia’s best regarded airlines among industry observers.
Kumiko Miyasaka is Managing Executive Officer and Senior Vice President at Japan Airlines, responsible for key corporate domains at the flag carrier. Through her management roles she has been closely involved in maintaining the airline’s focus on safety, service quality and operational reliability, which remain central to JAL’s brand identity and to its efforts to be the preferred choice of passengers on domestic and international routes.
Both executives bring decades of experience in a sector undergoing profound structural transition. Their careers span eras from traditional hub and spoke competition to the current focus on decarbonization, digitalization and workforce transformation. That combination of operational insight and strategic perspective is central to ICAO’s ambition for its ambassadors to serve as visible, trusted voices for the industry during a period of change.
In statements released with the appointment, Miyasaka emphasized the honor of representing Japan’s aviation industry in a global initiative aimed at ensuring the highest standards of flight safety and customer service. Hoya has previously highlighted the importance of embedding sustainability in long term airline strategy, a theme that is expected to feature strongly in her ambassadorial outreach.
A New Platform for Youth and Women in Aviation
The ICAO Global Ambassadors Programme was created to put a human face on international aviation and to strengthen outreach to groups that have historically been underrepresented in the sector, particularly women and younger generations. Ambassadors are expected to engage with schools, universities, professional associations and community organizations to showcase the breadth of aviation careers, from engineering and flight operations to regulation, sustainability and digital innovation.
Hoya and Miyasaka will focus much of their work on opening pathways for women and young people in Japan and across the wider Asia Pacific region. This includes speaking at educational events, participating in international conferences and using digital platforms to share their own career stories, highlighting both the opportunities and the challenges inherent in building a life in aviation.
For Japan, which faces a shrinking working age population and acute competition for technical talent, the appointments serve a strategic purpose. By elevating high profile role models who have advanced to senior leadership in a male dominated field, authorities and industry hope to encourage more students to consider aviation as a viable and rewarding long term career, thereby helping to stabilize the future workforce that airlines, airports and regulators will need.
The programme is closely aligned with ICAO’s Next Generation of Aviation Professionals agenda, which calls for coordinated efforts to address projected skill shortages as global air traffic grows and new technologies, such as advanced air mobility and increasingly automated systems, change the profile of jobs required throughout the sector.
Japan’s Aviation Diplomacy Gains New Visibility
The selection of Hoya and Miyasaka also dovetails with Japan’s broader aviation diplomacy and its active participation in ICAO’s governance structures. Tokyo has long been a significant contributor to the United Nations agency, supporting technical cooperation, safety oversight capacity building and environmental initiatives that aim to ensure no country is left behind in developing modern air transport infrastructure.
Japan’s presence in Montreal, where ICAO is headquartered, has strengthened in recent years with the appointment of career diplomat Toshiyuki Onuma as Permanent Representative and, more recently, his election as President of the ICAO Council. Against that backdrop, the naming of two Japanese Global Ambassadors adds another layer to the country’s influence within the organization’s emerging agenda on talent, outreach and sustainability.
Officials in Tokyo view the ambassadorial roles as complementary to Japan’s existing contributions in areas such as safety standards, navigation technology and emissions reduction. By placing industry leaders at the center of ICAO’s public facing initiatives, Japan can better showcase its domestic advances in clean aviation technologies, airport efficiency and disaster resilient infrastructure to a global audience.
The appointments also highlight how national regulators, airlines and international organizations are working together more closely. The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau’s recommendation of the two executives underscores the government’s recognition that industry voices are essential in connecting high level policy objectives with real world implementation and public engagement.
Supporting ICAO’s Long Term Sustainability Vision
The ICAO Global Ambassadors Programme is part of the organization’s broader strategy to guide international aviation toward a future of net zero carbon emissions, strengthened safety performance and expanded global connectivity. ICAO envisions an air transport system that can effectively triple capacity over coming decades while maintaining exceptional safety records and minimizing environmental impact.
Ambassadors like Hoya and Miyasaka are expected to translate these abstract goals into narratives that resonate with communities, policymakers and potential recruits. They will spotlight initiatives such as the deployment of sustainable aviation fuels, improvements in air traffic management, advances in aircraft efficiency and the development of new market mechanisms designed to curb emissions without constraining access to air travel.
Japan’s airlines have already taken visible steps in this direction, investing in fuel efficient fleets, piloting new fuel supply chains and integrating sustainability metrics into corporate planning. As Global Ambassadors, the two executives will be positioned to share lessons from those efforts, as well as to listen to concerns from stakeholders and feed them back into international policy conversations.
In addition to environmental themes, the programme emphasizes the social dimension of aviation, including accessibility, inclusiveness and the distribution of economic benefits across regions. By promoting aviation to diverse audiences and ensuring that opportunities reach communities beyond major metropolitan centers, ICAO aims to reinforce the idea that air transport is a shared global asset.
From Boardrooms to Classrooms: What the Role Involves
While the title of Global Ambassador carries diplomatic overtones, the role is grounded in practical outreach. Hoya and Miyasaka are expected to engage directly with students, young professionals and community leaders who may have limited exposure to the workings of international aviation but whose career choices and policy preferences will shape its future.
Their activities will likely range from lectures at universities and technical colleges to participation in career fairs, mentorship programmes and public panel discussions on the future of flight. Digital channels, including webinars and social media, will be key tools in reaching wider audiences, particularly in an era when many young people learn about industries primarily through online content rather than traditional career counseling.
In practice, this means distilling complex aviation topics such as safety management systems, international regulation and decarbonization roadmaps into accessible language. It also involves speaking honestly about the evolving skill sets that aviation employers will seek, including data literacy, cross cultural competence, and the ability to work at the intersection of engineering, regulation and environmental science.
By drawing on their personal experiences of navigating corporate hierarchies, work life balance and rapid industry change, the ambassadors have the potential to offer advice that feels relatable as well as aspirational. Their stories can help demystify leadership in aviation for those who may not see themselves reflected in traditional images of pilots or engineers.
Japan’s Airlines Look to a New Generation
The appointments come at a time when Japan’s aviation industry is emerging from the most disruptive period in its modern history. After navigating the collapse and gradual recovery of international travel demand, airlines are now repositioning themselves for renewed growth amid a wave of fleet modernization, digital transformation and evolving passenger expectations.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, the country’s two main network carriers, are simultaneously managing cost pressures, competitive dynamics in Asia and the imperative to invest in low carbon technologies. Their executives are keenly aware that the sector’s long term resilience will depend not only on financial performance but also on the ability to attract and retain a diverse pool of skilled professionals.
In that context, the ICAO Global Ambassador roles are more than ceremonial honors. They give both airlines a visible platform to align corporate talent strategies with global policy initiatives, reinforcing messages about inclusivity, lifelong learning and the importance of aviation as a connector of people and economies.
Industry analysts note that Japanese carriers have increasingly framed themselves as innovators in customer service and sustainability, seeking differentiation in a crowded marketplace. Having senior executives actively associated with an international programme aimed at shaping aviation’s future workforce further strengthens that positioning and may help the airlines appeal to younger, socially conscious job seekers.
What This Means for Global Travelers
For international travelers, the appointment of Japan’s aviation leaders as ICAO Global Ambassadors may seem distant from the day to day realities of booking flights and passing through airports. Yet industry experts argue that such initiatives are intimately connected to the quality, safety and reliability of the air travel experience in the decades ahead.
As ambassadors advocate for better training pipelines, more inclusive workplaces and stronger environmental standards, they contribute to an ecosystem in which airlines and regulators can plan long term investments with greater confidence. Well prepared, diverse teams of engineers, controllers, cabin crew and managers are essential to operating a complex global network in a way that meets rising expectations for both service and sustainability.
Travelers may ultimately experience the benefits through more resilient flight schedules, improved customer service, clearer communication around sustainability efforts and greater confidence that the industry is attracting the talent it needs to adapt to technological change. For Japan, whose airports serve as major hubs linking Asia, North America and Europe, those outcomes are integral to maintaining its status as a preferred gateway in a competitive region.
By stepping into prominent international ambassadorial roles, Tomoko Hoya and Kumiko Miyasaka are helping to ensure that Japanese perspectives and expertise are woven into global conversations about the future of flight. Their work, though often taking place away from the spotlight of daily operations, is likely to influence how the skies above Japan and beyond are shaped for the next generation of travelers.