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Takahashi Kosuke

Takahashi Kosuke is Tokyo Correspondent for The Diplomat.

Takahashi Kosuke is former Tokyo Correspondent for Janes Defence Weekly and former editor-in-chief of HuffPost Japan. He also was a former staff writer at The Asahi Shimbun and Bloomberg.

Takahashi graduated from Keio University with a B.A. in economics in 1993. After working for The Asahi Shimbun and Dow Jones, he studied at Columbia University’s Journalism School and School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and graduated with Master of Science in Journalism and Master of International Affairs in 2004. Prior to joining the Asahi as a reporter in 1993, he worked for Baltimore Economic Development Corporation as an exchange trainee to a sister city program of Kawasaki City, and researched trade issues between the United States and Japan. He was awarded an Honorary citizenship of Baltimore for his work in 1988.

Posts by Takahashi Kosuke

May 25, 2022

China, Russia Fly 6 Bombers Near Japan Amid Quad Summit

By Kosuke Takahashi

The first such joint flight since November 2021 coincided with Japan's hosting of the Quad summit.

May 18, 2022

Japan to Co-develop Future Fighter F-X With UK

By Takahashi Kosuke

Japan may choose BAE Systems, not Lockheed Martin, to support Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in developing next-generation fighter aircraft.

April 29, 2022

Japan Commissions the Name-ship of New Mogami-Class Multirole Frigate

By Kosuke Takahashi

Notably, the Mogami class will boast the first unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) and unmanned surface vehicle (USV) deployed on a Japanese frigate.

April 26, 2022

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Commissions First Yard Oil Tanker

By Kosuke Takahashi

The JMSDF has relied on civilian ships to transport fuel from oil refineries to bases. Now it has its own oil tanker, the first of two.

April 22, 2022

Defense Panel Within Japan’s Ruling Party Urges Tokyo to Acquire ‘Counterattack Capability’

By Kosuke Takahashi

The proposal, which stretches the limits of Japan's defense-oriented security policy, will inform the government’s long-term National Security Strategy.

April 15, 2022

Japan Scrambled Fighter Jets to Intercept Foreign Aircraft Over 1,000 Times in FY2021

By Kosuke Takahashi

It was the second highest number of scrambles in a single year, representing the worsening security environment surrounding Japan.

March 22, 2022

Japan Commissions First New Mogami-Class Multirole Frigate

By Kosuke Takahashi

The Kumano is the first of a planned 22 vessels of the class, which will include capabilities never seen before on a Japanese frigate.

March 09, 2022

Japan Commissions First New Taigei-Class Diesel-Electric Attack Submarine

By Kosuke Takahashi

Submarine-launched missiles could give Tokyo the much-debated “enemy base attack capability.”

February 18, 2022

Japan, UK to Collaborate on Future Fighter Sensor Development

By Kosuke Takahashi

The deal is just the latest in a string of defense projects undertaken by the “quasi-alliance.”

February 04, 2022

F-15 Crash Highlights Japan’s Aging Aircraft

By Kosuke Takahashi

The incident casts a shadow on the pace of Japan’s F-15 upgrade program.

December 27, 2021

Japan Approves Record Defense Budget for Fiscal Year 2022

By Kosuke Takahashi

Tokyo is striving to keep pace with China.

December 10, 2021

Japan’s MHI Launches Fourth Mogami-Class Multirole Frigate for JMSDF

By Kosuke Takahashi

The new frigate class is intended for surveillance missions in waters surrounding the Japanese archipelago, including the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.