Atsushi Ikegami is a Non-Resident Fellow at the ASPI USA, Senior Research Fellow at the National Security Institute of Fujitsu Defense & National Security, a Tokyo-based policy think tank, and a Visiting Fellow at the Japan Defense Technology Foundation. His research focuses on how emerging technologies—particularly AI and autonomous weapons—affect the future of military operations, nuclear deterrence, and arms control. More recently, his research has expanded to encompass alliance dynamics in the Asia-Pacific, with a particular focus on Japan–Australia–US cooperation and defense industry collaboration.
Previously, he headed the Defense & Geopolitical Research Unit at Fujitsu Research Institute, where he conducted policy research for Japanese government ministries on the development of future operational concepts, defense industry development, R&D strategy, and export control. Prior to that, he worked in the defense business at Airbus Helicopters Japan, supporting engagements with the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces.
His work has appeared in Defense Technology Journal, Newsweek Japan, and Sankei Shimbun. He has given invited talks at the DSEI Japan conference, the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Waseda University, and Keio University–Japan Air Self-Defense Force forums.
He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Keio University.