Lieutenant General (Ret.) Koichi Isobe is a Senior Advisor to The Asia Group, based in Japan. Concurrently, he serves as the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Advisor for the Yamasakura Japan-U.S.-Australia Trilateral Command Post Exercise. He is also Director of the Japan Association for International Security and teaches joint operations and security strategy as a lecturer at the Joint Staff College and the JGSDF Training-Evaluation, Education, Research and Development Command (TERCOM).
LTG Isobe retired from active duty in August 2015 after a 35-year career in the JSDF, having served in his last two years as Commanding General of the Eastern Army of the JGSDF. Prior to this final appointment, he held several other senior positions in Japan’s defense institutions, such as Director of J-5, Joint Staff, Commanding General of 7th Armored Division, as well as Vice Chairman of Joint Staff.
Previously, LTG Isobe was a senior fellow at Harvard University Asia Center (2017-2019) and at Asia Pacific Initiative (2017-2021). He is a regular contributor to NSBT Japan as the Executive Strategist.
LTG Isobe graduated from the Japan National Defense Academy with a major in International Relations in 1980, and from the JGSDF Command & General Staff College in 1989. He also obtains a Master of Arts in Military Studies from the U.S. Marine Corps University in 1996, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the U.S. National Defense University in 2003.
LTG Isobe’s awards include the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.