Dr Chiaki Akimoto
Distinguished Fellow
Dr Chiaki Akimoto was a senior defence analyst and news commentator at the NHK-Japan Broadcasting Corporation, specialising in military, security, and intelligence affairs.
He has been a defence correspondent for thirty years, covering US-Soviet Arms Control issues during the Cold War era, nuclear proliferation, Chinese military development, the Iraq war, and other recent regional conflicts. He frequently appears in the media as a commentator on international security issues.
Dr Akimoto was previously a Visiting Fellow to RUSI from 1992-93. In 2012, he left NHK to establish RUSI Japan and became its Director. He was a RUSI Distinguished Ambassador to Japan from 2019, until taking up his current appointment as a Distinguished Fellow in August 2023. He has extensive contacts in the Anglo-Japanese security community and provides a forum for exchange between experts from both countries.
He is the author of several books, including ‘The New Anglo-Japanese Alliance’ (CCC Media House, 2021) and ‘New Geopolitics for Strategy’ (Wedge, 2022). He has lectured at Osaka, Waseda, Keio, Chuo and many other universities in Japan, as well as broadcasting on radio and television.