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International Peace Cooperation Activities Training Unit

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International Peace Cooperation Activities Training and Education Unit
ActiveMarch 28, 2007 - Present
Country Japan
Branch Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
TypeMilitary Training unit
RoleMilitary Direct Action & Peacekeeping education unit
Size80 soldiers
Part of
Garrison/HQCamp Komakado, Shizuoka[1]
Nickname(s)IPCATng
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Hiroyuki Yokoyama[4]
Notable
commanders		Colonel Masakazu Karube
Colonel Mizuho Akiba[5]

The International Peace Cooperation Activities Training Unit (国際活動教育隊, kokusai katsudō kyōiku tai) is the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces's training unit to prepare JGSDF soldiers by training them in scenarios that would require the mobilization of JGSDF forces in other countries. It is based in the JGSDF's Camp Komakado in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The IPCATng aims to have 240 soldiers graduate from the unit's training program annually.[6]

Colonel Karube says training with the IPCATng is an "important point is to verify whether the training now being conducted can really be useful in theaters of activity overseas and to develop unified know-how for personnel education."[7]

The unit has invited lecturers from NGOs and universities to participate in IPCATng seminars.[8]

History

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The IPCATU was established on March 28, 2007.[6][9] A special ceremony was established on September 19, 2008 to inaugurate the beginning of the unit's first official training program.[6] This was based on the experience of the JGSDF in reconstruction work in Samawa, Iraq in the early 2000s.[10]

The unit had been established in conjunction with the Central Readiness Force to the need of educating JGSDF forces to properly conduct operations in foreign soil. Its first commander was Colonel Masakazu Karube, who was unit commander from March 28, 2007 to March 25, 2009.[11]

On April 4, 2018, the unit responded to an inquiry from the Diet that they do not keep any documentation related to the JGSDF's activities in South Sudan when then Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera answered questions from reporters.[12] A Diet inquiry under the Diet Security Committee on May 10, 2018 mentioned that a search was conducted in the IPCATng offices[13] in relation to accusation that Tomomi Inada covered up events in South Sudan that conditions on the grounds are getting dangerous for JGSDF soldiers to continue their peacekeeping work.[14]

As of 2019, the IPCATng has been under the command of the Ground Component Command[15] after the CRF was abolished.[16]

On April 1, 2021, the unit conducted the 2nd International Peace Cooperation Activities Seminar (IPCAS) online due to COVID-19 concerns.[17]

Training

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Training under the IPCATng lasts for one month with graduates expecting to serve overseas in potential peacekeeping operations.[6] All participants are required then to attend a review session after each training session is complete.[7] The International Peace Cooperation Activities Seminar (IPCAS) is held once a year where the JSDF participates with research organizations, NGOs and government offices in research on civil-military affairs in conflict and post-conflict.[18]

The IPCATng also provides support for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in peacebuilding development since 2008 for civilian peacebuiliding operations.[18] They also provide peacekeeping capacity building to friendly countries.[19]

Formation

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The IPCATng has the following structure:[20]

Commander

  • Headquarters - Command Sergeant Major
    • Education Division
    • Evaluation Division
    • Research Division
    • Education and Training Support Platoon

References

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  1. ^ a b Central Readiness Force. "Organization". Central Readiness Force. Archived from the original on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  2. ^ "新編陸上自衛隊、どう変わった？ 創設以来最大規模、目指したものは更なる「速さ」" [What has changed in the newly formed Ground Self-Defense Force? The largest scale since its establishment, aiming for even greater "speed"] (in Japanese). 28 May 2018.
  3. ^ "陸上総隊の編成" [Organization of the Ground Self-Defense Force] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2 March 2021.
  4. ^ "教育隊長" [Training Officer]. About the IPCAT (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2022-01-11.
  5. ^ "Senior Specialist Course/Coursework Report: "Japan's Initiatives, Safety Management, etc."". Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  6. ^ a b c d "Central Readiness Force Unit Launches Training". Japan Defense Focus, Japanese Ministry of Defense. Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  7. ^ a b "Special Feature: The GSDF Central Readiness Force - This Year's Aim is "Personal Training"". Japanese Ministry of Defense. November 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  8. ^ "1st Tokyo-Seminar on Common Security Challenges "Future Cooperation among Defense Authorities in the Region"" (PDF). 18 March 2009.
  9. ^ "（解説）国際活動教育隊" [(Commentary) International Peace Cooperation Activities Training Unit] (in Japanese).
  10. ^ Fouse, David (July 2007). "Japan's Dispatch of the Ground Self Defense Force to Iraq: Lessons Learned" (PDF). Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.
  11. ^ "Predecessors". Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
  12. ^ "陸自の国際活動教育隊の日報も発見" [Daily reports from the GSDF's International Activities Training Unit discovered] (in Japanese).
  13. ^ "第196回国会 安全保障委員会 第7号（平成30年5月10日（木曜日））" [196th National Safety and Security Committee No. 7 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]. www.shugiin.go.jp (in Japanese).
  14. ^ "Japanese defence minister to resign over South Sudan cover-up claims". The Guardian. 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Efforts to Support International Peace Cooperation Activities" (PDF). Defense of Japan 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 September 2024.
  16. ^ "神奈川）陸自の中央即応集団が廃止 座間駐屯地に５年：朝日新聞デジタル" [Ground Self-Defense Force's Central Readiness Force to be abolished after five years at Zama Garrison]. asahi.com (in Japanese). 26 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  17. ^ "自衛隊ニュース2021年4月1日(8)" [Self-Defense Force News April 1, 2021 (8)] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  18. ^ a b "MISCELLANEOUS: International Peace Cooperation Activities". Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.
  19. ^ "ベトナムに対する能力構築支援" [Capacity Building Support for Vietnam] (in Japanese). Embassy of Japan in Vietnam.
  20. ^ "About the IPCAT". Archived from the original on 25 March 2017.
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