Hajime Takano

Hajime Takano is the kind of journalist who never got the memo about knowing when to shut up — and I mean that as a compliment. Born in Tokyo in 1944, Waseda-educated, and pushing eighty with his pen still sharp, he has spent decades doing the thing that most of Japan's mainstream press quietly stopped doing: saying the uncomfortable part out loud. He operates independently, outside the cozy press-club ecosystem, which means he is free to go after power without worrying about losing his seat at the briefing. Aries energy, Year of the Monkey — there is something fittingly restless and clever about that combo. In an era where truly independent voices in Japanese political journalism are a genuinely endangered species, the fact that he is still at it, still opinionated, still present, feels worth acknowledging.

Hajime Takano is a Japanese journalist born on April 17, 1944, in Tokyo. He graduated from Waseda University and has maintained an independent editorial stance throughout a career spanning several decades. Known for tackling political and diplomatic subjects that mainstream outlets often avoid, he has continued working as an active commentator well into his eighties.

Name (English)

Hajime Takano

Name (Japanese)

高野孟

Reading

たかの はじめ

Born

April 17, 1944 (age 82)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aries / Monkey (申)

Origin

Tokyo, Japan

Occupation

Journalist

University

Waseda University

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E9%87%8E%E5%AD%9F

Tags

• From Tokyo
• Journalist

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.