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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

October 20, 2026

Japan Has Considered Nuclear-Powered Submarines Since 1958. Why Has It Never Built One?

By Takahashi Kosuke

From a 1958 design study to reported approaches to the U.S. Navy, Japan has repeatedly examined nuclear-powered submarines without making an acquisition decision.

October 14, 2026

Russia’s Arrest of a Japanese Journalist Deepens the Freeze in Japan-Russia Relations

By Takahashi Kosuke

The case of Hokkaido Shimbun correspondent Imai Yuki could chill reporting from Russia’s Far East and narrow the space for even limited diplomatic engagement.

October 06, 2026

US Marine’s Arrest for Murder Tests Okinawa’s New Governor

By Takahashi Kosuke

An alleged killing days after Koja Genta took office threatens Tokyo’s hopes for closer cooperation with Okinawa on its expanding southwestern defense posture.

September 24, 2026

Takaichi’s Pre-emptive Diplomacy: What Japan Needs From the Trump-Xi Summit

By Takahashi Kosuke

Prime Minister Takaichi made Tokyo’s concerns clear to Trump before Xi Jinping arrived in Washington. Will that actually impact the summit?

September 15, 2026

JASDF Global Hawk Presumed to Have Crashed off Western Japan

By Takahashi Kosuke

The incident could strain Japan’s persistent wide-area surveillance capabilities, as the JASDF operates only three of the high-altitude unmanned aircraft.

September 08, 2026

Japan and South Korea Face Off Again in the US Navy’s Frigate Search

By Takahashi Kosuke

South Korea has an industrial head start, but is Japan’s upgraded Mogami class merely a stalking horse for the Chungnam class?

August 31, 2026

Japan’s Record 2027 Defense Budget Request Is Only the Opening Bid

By Takahashi Kosuke

Tokyo is building a force around AI, unmanned systems, a high-low weapons mix, and greater staying power.

August 26, 2026

JASDF Fighter Jets to Visit India for First Time

By Takahashi Kosuke

Three F-2A fighters will fly to India via Okinawa and Thailand for Veer Guardian 26, with the U.S. Air Force providing support including aerial refueling.

August 19, 2026

US ICC Sanctions Pose a Test for Japan

By Takahashi Kosuke

Japan’s only treaty ally sanctioned the ICC president – who happens to be a Japanese national. That embodies Japan’s rule-of-law conundrum.

August 12, 2026

Takaichi, the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, and a Strained US Nuclear Umbrella

By Takahashi Kosuke

For Japan, the most immediate question is not whether to pursue nuclear weapons itself, but whether to allow its ally’s nuclear-capable assets on Japanese soil.

August 04, 2026

Japan’s 2026 Defense White Paper Warns of China’s Expanding Military Reach in the Pacific

By Takahashi Kosuke

This year’s white paper places particular emphasis on Beijing’s growing ability to project military power beyond the First Island Chain.

July 29, 2026

From Hanoi to Manila: Japan’s Updated ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ Takes Shape

By Takahashi Kosuke

Tokyo's Manila diplomacy linked ASEAN security cooperation to a wider Indo-Pacific network stretching to the Pacific Islands.