Experts Hirohito Ogi
Senior Research Fellow
Profile
Hirohito Ogi is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Geoeconomics (IOG) studying military strategy and Japan’s defense policy. Before joining the IOG, Mr. Ogi had been a career government official at the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) for 16 years. From 2021 to 2022, he served as the Principal Deputy Director for the Strategic Intelligence Analysis Office, the Defense Intelligence Division at the MOD, where he led the MOD’s defense intelligence. From 2019 to 2021, he served as a Deputy Director of the Defense Planning and Programming Division at the MOD. His recent publications include "Military Innovation and Procurement Trade-Offs: Explaining Japan’s Drone Adoption," The Pacific Review, September 2026; "Japan’s Information Security and Defence Reforms: From Inner Circle to National Standardisation," The RUSI Journal 171, no. 1 (February 2026): 58-69 (co-autnored); From Decline to Surge: The Defense Industry in the Era of Excess Demand (Institute of Geoeconomics, January 2026) (co-authored). He holds a Master’s degree in international affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s degree in arts and sciences from the University of Tokyo.
Expertise
Defense and national security / Strategic studies / Defense industrial policy
Project in Charge
Publications
Books and reports
- Sustained Denial and Strategic Depth: Policy Recommendations for Japan’s Next Strategic Documents (Institute of Geoeconomics, July 2026), Executive Summary (co-authored).
- From Decline to Surge: The Defense Industry in the Era of Excess Demand (Institute of Geoeconomics, January 2026)(co-authored).
- Comparative Study of Defense Industries -Autonomy, Priority, and Sustainability- (Institute of Geoeconomics, December 2024)(co-authored).
Journal articles
- “Military Innovation and Procurement Trade-Offs: Explaining Japan’s Drone Adoption,” The Pacific Review, ahead of print, September 2026.
- “Japan’s Information Security and Defence Reforms: From Inner Circle to National Standardisation,” The RUSI Journal 171, no. 1 (February 2026): 58-69 (with Christopher W Hughes).
- “Toward Functioning Alignment: Future Developments of Defense Cooperation between South Korea and Japan,” The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis 37, no. 2 (June 2025): 183-206 (with Kihyun Yoo and Kohtaro Ito).
- “The Origins of Japan’s Arms Export Prohibition,” Asia Policy 20 no.1 (January 2025): 135-155.
Commentaries
- “What Ukraine and Iran Teach Us About Deterrence,” Geoeconomic Briefing (August 2026).
- “Undertaking concrete trilateral cooperation on information sharing: Opportunities and challenges from a Japanese perspective,” in Tom Corben, ed., “AJUSINT: Advancing defence information and intelligence sharing between Australia, Japan and the United States,” United States Studies Centre, The University of Sydney, September 2025.
- “Beyond a Zero-Sum Approach to U.S.-Japan Defense Burden Sharing,” Geoeconomic Briefing (August 2025).
- “Per Tōkyō L’AI Non Cambia Ancora La Guerra,” Limes (May 2025).
- “Adjusting Net Imbalances of Benefits in Complex Geopolitics: Foundational Security Cooperation between Japan and South Korea,” Korea-Japan Joint Work on World 2050 (Seoul: East Asia Institute, March 2025).
- “Beyond Policy Limits: Rethinking U.S.-Japan Command and Control,” Stimson Center Policy Memo (The Stimson Center, March 2025).
- “Navigo ergo sum. Tōkyō si prepara alla guerra nel mare,” Limes “I signori degli oceani,” November 2024.
- “Enhancing the Shield and the Spear: Understanding Recent Developments in the Japan-US Alliance,” Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, August 2024.
- “Lessons from Ukraine and Gaza on humanitarian law,” The Japan Times (September 26, 2024).
- “Japan-U.S.-South Korea Trilateral Cooperation in Response to the Russia-North Korea Partnership,” IOG Commentary, no.1 (July 4, 2024).
- “Enhancing undersea deterrence capabilities with JAUKUS collaboration“, East Asia Forum (May 11, 2024).
- “The Opportunity and Duty for Japan’s Defense Exports Amid the Demand-Pulled International Defense Economy” (Institute of Geoeconomics, March 25, 2024).
- “Remaining Challenges for Operationalizing Japan’s Information Security Legislation” (Institute of Geoeconomics, February 19, 2024).
- “How East Asia should prepare for a possible Trump comeback,” The Japan Times (January 31, 2024).
- “Evolving Japan-US command and control cooperation for forward denial” (United States Studies Centre, Sydney University, November 20, 2023).
- “How Japan can make the most of its latest diplomatic tool”, The Japan Times (August 27, 2023).
- “Russia’s nuclear blackmail must be met with denial”, The Japan Times (May 22, 2023).
- “How Can We Make the Argument on Tax Increase for Strengthening Defense Capabilities Persuasive?“, IOG Commentary (December 26, 2022).
- “The Strategic Shift from Territorial Defense to In-Depth Interdiction and the Unfinished Work of Transforming the Self-Defense Forces”, IOG Commentary (December 23, 2022).
- “In dealing with Beijing, Tokyo must adopt a strong security front”, The Japan Times (December 20, 2022).
- “Impact of the war in Ukraine sees Japan at the mercy of bigger players”, The Japan Times (November 24, 2022).
- “The Japanese Views on Legal Issues Related to Security”, Japanese Yearbook on International Law 59 (2016) (with Tomohiro Mikanagi).
Research
Security
What Ukraine and Iran Teach Us About Deterrence
Iran has launched large numbers of one-way attack drones costing only thousands of dollars each into the Persian Gulf, complicatin
Senior Research Fellow
Hirohito Ogi
Security
Sustained Denial and Strategic Depth: Policy Recommendations for Japan’s Next Strategic Documents
As China continues to expand its military and uncertainty grows over U.S. alliance commitments, what kind of defense strategy shou
Group Head, International Security Order / Visiting Senior Research Fellow
Kuniharu Kakihara
Security
How should Japan respond to China’s nuclear threat?
Concerns over a potential Taiwan contingency have steadily intensified since 2021, the year former U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Comma
Senior Research Fellow
Hirohito Ogi
Diplomacy
What Takaichi’s Snap Election Landslide Means for Japan’s Defense and Fiscal Policy
Election Results: Key Takeaways and Implications / Coalition Dynamics: How Partner Shifts Change Policy / Impact on the National
Senior Research Fellow
Hirohito Ogi
Security
Defense Capabilities and Defense Industrial Cooperation in and across the Indo-Pacific
Japan’s Defense Industrial Policy / South Korea’s Defense Industrial Policy / Australia’s Defense Industrial Policy / Europe’s Re
Senior Research Fellow
Hirohito Ogi
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