was the 32nd Chief of Staff of the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warf ...

, the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

of Japan.

Career

Kataoka was born and raised in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. He attended the National Defense Academy of Japan, graduating into the

in 1976. He has held numerous command positions in his career, including within the 4th Air Wing and the Air Staff Office.Japan Defense Almanac 2010 防衛年鑑（2010年版） In 2001, then-Major General Kataoka took command of the JASDF Air Development and Test Command. One year later, he took command of the 8th Air Wing. In 2007, then-Lieutenant General Kataoka took command of the JASDF Central Air Defense Force. Two years later, in 2009, he took command of JASDF Air Training Command. In 2010, he became commander of Air Defence Command. He served in this position at the time of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six mi ...

and subsequently became the Air Component Commander of Joint Task Force - Tohoku.No.23 Japan Defense Focus , SPECIAL FEATURE
/ref> In January 2012, he became the Chief of Staff of the

, replacing

Shigeru Iwasaki was the 4th Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. A four-star General from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Iwasaki was the highest-ranking military officer in Japan and ranked third in the overall command hierarchy ...

who was promoted to be Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Council.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kataoka, Haruhiko 1954 births Living people People from Tokyo Chiefs of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force National Defense Academy of Japan alumni