Yoji Koda
Vice Admiral (Retired) Japan Maritime Self Defense Force
Mr. Yoji Koda is Vice Admiral (Retired) of Japan Maritime Self Defense Force with surface warfare specialty. He is a graduate of National Defense Academy (NDA: 1972) and in 1991-1992 he was a student of Naval Command College at the U.S. Naval War College. After 40 years service in NDA and JMSDF, he served as Commander in Chief, Self Defense Fleet, from 2007 until his retirement in 2008. In 2009-11 Koda became a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center, where he worked on the Chinese naval strategy. He had served as an advisor to National Security Secretariat until March this year. He is an erudite strategic thinker and an engaging speaker on naval power and contemporary security subjects. Koda also is a proficient writer on maritime affairs and military history. His recent articles include: “Japanese Perspective on China’s Rise as a Naval Power,” (Harvard Asia Quarterly, Winter, 2010) and “Maritime Strategy and National Security in Japan and Britain” (Leiden and Boston, Global Oriental, 2012).
