NEWS & EVENTS

Lt. Colonel Kojiro Tonosaki: Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) present and future capabilities

On February 21st, a special guest visited Professor William Brooks’ class, “U.S.-Japan Relations in Global Context.”

Kojiro Tonosaki, a Lt. Colonel in the 航空自衛隊 Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), spoke to the students about the Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) present and future capabilities as they continue to adapt to the increasingly complex security environment in the region. In laying out the SDF’s technological and operational improvements to match Japan’s evolving strategy, he stressed the importance of the U.S.-Japan Alliance and Japan’s growing cooperation with allies and strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific followed by a lively and highly informative Q&A session with the students.

Lt. Colonel Tonosaki is a recent graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies | SAIS who now serves as a Visiting Fellow at CSIS | Center for Strategic & International Studies. He also was a student of Professor Brooks at SAIS. A seasoned transportation pilot with the JASDF, he has held staff-level positions at the Defense and Foreign Ministries, where one of his responsibilities was to develop personnel exchange programs with ASEAN countries.