Carnival Corp. today announced that Eiko Kijima, country director and a representative director of Carnival Japan, will be retiring.
Satoru Horikawa, currently a representative director of Carnival Japan, will assume the role of country director as of September 14, 2015.
Kijima-san will continue as a special adviser to Carnival Japan in order to assist in transition matters until December 31, 2015, at which time she will retire from the company.
Kijima was the general manager of Cruise Vacations in 1992 and worked as a general sales agent of Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, American Hawaii Cruises among other lines. In 1994, she became president, and expanded the business to become the general sales agent of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Paul Gaugin Cruises, Cunard Line and Seabourn Cruises. She also has been a board member of JATA, Japan Association of Travel Agents, and has served as an executive officer since 2005. Kijima became president of Carnival Japan in March 2012 when Cruise Vacations became a part of Carnival plc. She has successfully led the Carnival Japan team to launch the first Japan homeport season for Princess Cruises in 2013, which was the first global cruise line to enter the Japanese market and continues today with the largest deployment ever. In 2014 and 2015, she led the team to launch the Japan homeport season for Princess Cruises with high customer satisfaction.
“We are so grateful to have had such a strong, dedicated and experienced professional leader as Kijima-san. As the ‘Godmother’ of the Japan cruising industry, she has not only led the growth of Princess Cruises in Japan, but also the rapid development of the cruise vacation industry” said Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises. “We will miss Kijima and all she offered to the company. Kijima-san is synonymous with the cruise industry in Japan and she should be proud of all she has accomplished throughout her illustrious career. We are thankful that she will be with us through the end of this year as a special adviser to assist with transition matters, and wish her all the best for her retirement.”
“I am very grateful to have spent nearly 40 years being a part of the growth of the cruising industry in Japan, and deeply honored to have had the opportunity to lead the great and passionate Carnival Japan team since 2012. I am very proud of what my teams have accomplished together and by bringing the concept of international cruising to the people of Japan. Although cruising is still a new vacation concept to the Japanese market, I am proud to have laid the foundation for the cruise industry to grow in Japan, and I am sure cruising will become a mainstream vacation choice for travelers looking for one of the best vacations of their lives” said Kijima.
“We are also very pleased with the announcement of Satoru Horikawa as the new country director of Carnival Japan,” Swartz added. “He joined the company in July 2014, overseeing all sales, marketing and public relations operations of Carnival Japan and has taken on additional roles since joining. His responsibilities include all regions within Japan for Princess Cruises, as well as Cunard Line and Seabourn. Horikawa has rich industry experience and will be tremendous asset to the continued success and growth of Carnival Japan into the future.”
Horikawa brings to this position over 20 years of experience in the retail and leisure industry with significant experience working with the travel trade in Japan. Prior to joining Carnival Japan he was vice president, sales and marketing, DFS Group Limited with responsibility for DFS’ duty free business in the US and Hawaii. In this position, Horikawa worked with travel professionals to grow DFS’ land based duty free business. He also served as the general manager of the Okinawa division of a global real estate private equity business with the responsibility for managing that company’s assets in Okinawa, which included a hotel and condominium project, a duty free retail facility and a golf course.
