Kazuo Inamori, honorary chairman of Japan Airlines Co. and the airline's top executive until earlier this year, was chosen best company president of 2012 in an Internet survey of corporate executives in Japan, the Sanno Institute of Management said Tuesday.
Inamori was chosen "president of the year" for the first time for leading JAL's revival from its bankruptcy in 2010. He collected 113 votes from 445 replies to the survey, which covered 565 executives of companies with at least 10 employees.
Softbank Corp. chief Masayoshi Son was a close runnerup with 108 votes after winning the preceding two years, while Fast Retailing Co. chief Tadashi Yanai came in third with 47 votes and Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda took fourth with 45.