About Kazuo Inamori

This page summarizes the biography of Kazuo Inamori. For a complete details, please refer to the Chronology that traces Inamori's 90-year lifetime from four perspectives: Technology, Management, Philosophy, and Social Activities.

Kazuo Inamori

Inamori was born on January 30, 1932 in Kagoshima City.
In March 1955, he graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Kagoshima University.
In April 1955, he joined the Kyoto-based ceramics manufacturer Shofu Industries.

Kyocera

In April 1959, he established Kyoto Ceramic Co., Ltd. (now Kyocera Corporation) with capital of 3 million yen.
He served as president and chairman of the company until 1997 when he assumed the title of founder and chairman emeritus, followed by the position of Chairman Emeritus in 2005.

KDDI

In 1984, he established Daini-Denden Planning Company (later DDI Corporation), assuming the position of president and chairman. In October 2000, DDI, KDD, and IDO merged to form DDI Corp.(now KDDI Corp.), with Inamori as DDI's chairman emeritus; in June 2001, he became KDDI's honorary adviser.

JAL

In February 2010, at the request of the Japanese government, he became chairman of Japan Airlines (JAL, now Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.). After serving as president and chairman, he became chairman emeritus in February 2012, followed by honorary chairman in 2013, and honorary adviser in April 2015.

Social Activities

In 1983, Inamori volunteered to serve as president of Seiwajyuku, a private management school for young business leaders. As the president of all 104 schools (56 in Japan and 48 internationally) he devoted himself to nurturing business managers. (The school closed at the end of 2019 with 14,938 members.)

In 1984, he used his personal funds to establish the non-profit Inamori Foundation, a public interest incorporated foundation, where he served as founder and president through June 2019, and thereafter as founder. At the same time, he established the international Kyoto Prize. Every November, this prize honors individuals and groups worldwide who have contributed significantly to the advancement of humankind.

He passed away on August 24, 2022.