born in saitama, saitama, takahashi developed his talents through an hrc racing scholarship, a program which has supported many young japanese riders and aims to help them into the top level of competition. he made a wild card appearance in the 125cc world championship in japan in 2001. between 2002 and 2004 he made four wild card appearances in his home country in the 250cc world championship, finishing in the top five in all four. he won the mfj all japan road race gp250 championship in 2004, having previously finished runner-up in the mfj all japan road race gp125 championship in 2001.