Tadashi Yanai, Fast Retailing Co.’s 70-year-old billionaire founder, said he would prefer to be succeeded by a woman, which would be better for Asia’s largest retailer.

　　拥有亿万身家的迅销有限公司70岁的创始人柳井正说，他希望由女人来继承他的事业，这样对这家亚洲最大零售商的发展更好。

　　“The job is more suitable for a woman,” Yanai, the chief executive officer behind clothing giant Uniqlo, said in an interview. “They are persevering, detailed oriented and have an aesthetic sense.”

　　服装行业巨头优衣库的首席执行官柳井正在一次采访中说：“这份工作更适合女性，她们持之以恒、精益求精，而且会审美。”

　　As Yanai gets older, he’s been asked more frequently about succession at the company, which he built from his father’s tailor shop into a global brand.

　　柳井正年纪越来越大，经常被问及公司继承问题。他将父亲的裁缝铺发展成了现在的全球品牌。

　　A possible candidate could be Maki Akaida, who was appointed this year to run Uniqlo’s Japan operations — the company’s most profitable unit.

　　有希望的候选人是赤井田真希，今年被任命管理优衣库的日本业务，也是该公司最大的盈利部门。

　　Yanai said he wants to increase the ratio of female senior executives to more than half the total.

　　柳井正表示，他希望将女性高管比例提高到总人数的一半以上。

　　Fast Retailing currently has six women in such roles, after hitting its goal last year of having more than 30% of women in management positions.

　　迅销公司目前有6名女性高管，去年实现了管理岗位的女性人数超过30%的目标。

　　Fast Retailing shares climbed 0.9% in Tokyo trading on Wednesday.

　　周三迅销在东京的股价上涨了0.9%。

　　Japan has faced scrutiny over its lack of gender diversity in top management roles; only 4.1% of executive titles at publicly traded firms in the country are held by women. That pales in comparison with places such as the U.S., where women make up about a quarter of executive ranks, according to multiple studies.

　　日本高层管理职位缺乏性别多样性，受到了社会关注。该国上市公司的行政职务中女性只占4.1%，与美国等地相比相形见绌，多项研究显示美国行政级别中女性占比约1/4。

　　“It’s a possibility,” Yanai said when asked whether Akaida would be a potential successor. Akaida, 40, joined the company in 2001 and has managed Uniqlo stores in China and Japan, as well as working in the sales and human resources divisions.

　　柳井正在被问及赤井田真希未来是否会成为继承人时说：“会有这种可能。” 40岁的赤井田真希于2001年进入该公司，管理着中国和日本的优衣库门店，也负责销售和人力资源部门的工作。