The airline says he has
By Russ Lynch
been falsely claiming he can
arrange to sell its Hawaii
and other hotels
Star-BulletinA Japanese billionaire, who reportedly has told people in Hawaii, New York and other cities that he is in a position to sell Japan Airlines Inc.'s U.S. hotels, has surfaced as the airline's biggest shareholder.
Eitaro Itoyama, who has talked about selling the 390-room Ihilani Resort & Spa at Ko Olina on Oahu, the Essex House in New York City and other JAL-owned hotels, holds 3 percent of its stock, JAL confirmed.
His 53.4 million shares puts him ahead of Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. with 2.9 percent and Industrial Bank of Japan Ltd. with 2.8 percent. Whether that will give him enough clout to influence the airline's decisions remains to be seen.
Responding to reports it was selling the hotels, JAL said last month that it was not in negotiations although selling some U.S. properties was being considered because of the airline's losses.
Irene Jackson, a spokeswoman at JAL's U.S. headquarters in New York, said then the reports surfaced because Itoyama had been to some U.S. cities saying that as the biggest shareholder, he was arranging to sell the hotels.
Itoyama's actual shareholding was not clear then, JAL said. Jackson said Itoyama is not a director of the airline and was not authorized to act on its behalf.
Itoyama, who owns about 50 golf courses, was listed two years ago in Forbes magazine as being worth more than $2 billion. A former member of the Japanese parliament, he is known in Japan for his friendship with some of the country's leading gangsters.
On May 29, JAL said it lost 94.18 billion yen ($652 million) in the year ended March 31, compared with a 9.2 billion yen loss the previous year.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
