That same year, he set a Japanese high school best of 47:46 minutes at the Himeji Castle 10-Miler and joined the Asahi Kasei corporate running team.

A time of 28:55.24 minutes brought him the silver medal behind Daniel Komen (who broke world records only two years later).

[4] Takao was a winner at the All-Japan Corporate Ekiden Championships in 1995 with Asahi Kasei – a title he would go on to win three times more with the team during his career.

[5] He began to make an impact in the senior ranks that year, starting with a fourth-place finish at the Japan Championships in Athletics over 10,000 m, dipping under the 28-minute barrier for the first time.

[6] This brought him selection for the event at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics alongside Toshiyuki Hayata and Yasuyuki Watanabe.

[7] At the start of the 1996 season he made his debut over the half marathon distance in Tokyo, recording a time of 62:08 minutes but finishing out of the top ten in the high calibre race.

Entering the Beppu-Ōita Marathon, he kept up with the leaders for much of the race but after suffering a fall on the course he ended up in sixth place with a time of 2:11:31 hours.

[13] He was chosen for Japan at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics and gave the highest finish of his international career by ending the race in 18th place.