He is trained to fly the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, Japan's primary jet fighter.

[5] In December 2010, General Iwasaki became the 31st Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

As Chief of Staff, he spearheaded the effort to procure the fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

[8] He replaced GSDF General Ryuichi Ariki, and his Vice Chief of Staff was Kōichi Isobe.

He has presided over a number of significant national security issues, including the renewed Senkaku Islands dispute and the possible revision of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution (following the Liberal Democratic Party's landslide electoral victory in December 2012).