JPC Activities & Events 2021

On December 15, 2021, the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC, Director: Col. OSADA Eiichiro) held the 3rd Peace Operation Workshop of FY2021, inviting Lt. Col. KAWASAKI Machiko, serving as a medical training officer at the United Nations Department of Operational Support, as a lecturer.
　This workshop is aimed at acquiring knowledge necessary for research on international peacekeeping operations, and this time we had the lecturer conduct an online lecture from New York where the United Nations Headquarters is located. It was also attended by Mr. ITO Takakazu and Mr. MARUSAKI Akira of the UN Department of Operational Support as special guests.
　In order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the event was held in a hybrid style where attendees in the venue were limited to the JPC’s members and other MOD personnel including those of the Joint Staff, and personnel of related ministries and agencies such as the Cabinet Office’s Secretariat of the International Peace Cooperation Headquarters and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Foreign Policy Bureau participated online.
　In the workshop, under the theme “Trend of the United Nations Triangular Partnership Project: Latest trend of the UN TPP and Japan’s future efforts”, Lt. Col. KAWASAKI gave a thought-provoking lecture on the current state of UN TPP, future direction, and Japan’s future efforts from her viewpoint as personnel both of the UN Headquarters and the MOD/SDF. And then followed active Q & A’s and opinion exchange between online participants and attendees at the venue.
　The JPC will reflect the result of the workshop in its training and research projects.

From October 4 to 14, 2021, Lieutenant Commander WATANABE Kenta, research officer at the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC) participated in the Peace Support Operations Cooperation Course (PSOCC) at the Finnish Defense Forces International Centre (FINCENT) located near the capital of Finland, Helsinki.
　During this course, LCDR WATANABE learned about the procedure for civil-military coordination, and broaden his horizons through discussions with military and police officers from other countries.
　Also, this was the first international trip for the JPC in two years after the spread of the novel coronavirus, marking the significant resumption of international exchange that has been stagnated by the pandemic.
　The JPC will reflect the results from this course in the center’s training and research efforts.

• ＊1　PSOCC：Peace Support Operations Cooperation Course
• ＊2　FINCENT：Finnish Defense Forces International Centre

On October 16, 2021, the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC) supported the “6th SDF/MOD office tour and 2nd defense seminar” held by the SDF Tokyo Provincial Cooperation Office (PCO.)
　These events were a part of an internship mainly targeted at university students, where a defense lecture and a group discussion were held. (The 2nd defense seminar was an online defense lecture.)
　At the request of Tokyo PCO, JPC’s researcher Lt. Col. ARAKI Junko gave a lecture on the SDF’s international contribution and activities in the international arena, etc.
　In the Q and A session, a number of questions were raised for a period of time well exceeding the schedule, showing the participants’ high interest in the SDF.
　Also, in the group work led by the Tokyo PCO, the participants actively discussed action of staff officers in international peace cooperation activities. At the end of it, Lt. Col. ARAKI commented on the discussion, and every participant left the center with a content look.

On September 30, 2021, defense attache of Australia to Japan, Group Captain Sonja Halloran visited the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC.)
During opinion exchange on training courses, Group Captain Halloran mentioned that she hopes bilateral cooperation and exchange in international peace cooperation activities will deepen further, and that as defense attache of Australia, she will actively support training and research of the JPC.

On September 29, 2021, defense attache of Finland to Japan, Colonel Kimmo Tarvainen visited the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC.)
　During the visit, JPC’s chief training and research officer gave a presentation on the outline of the center, which was followed by opinion exchange on training courses.
　In the opinion exchange, Colonel Tarvainen mentioned the importance of exchange between the two countries in training related to international peace cooperation activities, and future development.
　The JPC will continue reflecting the results to be gained from such exchange in its training and research.

On September 2, 2021, the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC, Director: Col. OSADA Eiichiro) held the second Peace Operation Workshop of FY2021, inviting MASUDA Masayuki, Senior Fellow of the China Division, Regional Studies Department, National Institute for Defense Studies, as a lecturer.
　This workshop aimed at acquiring knowledge necessary for research on international peacekeeping operations was this time given the theme “China’s current peacekeeping policy and efforts,” and attended by personnel of the Secretariat of the International Peace Cooperation Headquarters, Cabinet Office; Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Bureau of Defense Policy, MOD; and the Joint Staff as well as the JPC.
　In the workshop, Mr. MASUDA gave a lecture based on his abundant professional studies, which was followed by active Q and A’s and opinion exchange.
　The workshop was held under thorough anti-infection measures against the novel coronavirus, including avoiding the “three C’s” (closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings) and limiting the number of participants.
　The JPC will reflect the result of the workshop in its training and research projects.

On June 24, 2021, the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC, Director: Col. OSADA Eiichiro) held the first Peace Operation Workshop of FY2021, inviting TSUZUKI Masayasu, project researcher at the University of Tokyo as a lecturer.
　This workshop aimed at acquiring knowledge necessary for research on international peacekeeping operations was this time given the theme “International peace cooperation as part of the national security strategy,” and attended by personnel of the Secretariat of the International Peace Cooperation Headquarters, Cabinet Office; Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Bureau of Defense Policy, MOD; and the Joint Staff as well as the JPC.
　In the workshop, Mr. TSUZUKI gave a lecture based on his abundant experience in the field of international peace cooperation, which was followed by active Q and A’s and opinion exchange.
　The workshop was held under thorough anti-infection measures against the novel coronavirus, including avoiding the “three C’s” (closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings) and limiting the number of participants.
　The JPC will reflect the result of the workshop in its training and research projects.

From June 1 to 3, 2021, CDR TAKIGAWA Hiroko, senior research officer at the Japan Peacekeeping Research and Training Center (JPC) participated online in the Gender Focal Point(GFP) Course＊ conducted by the Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations (NCGM) from our facility in F-2 building in the Ichigaya district.
　This course aims to train gender focal point in NATO structure and United Nations peacekeeping operations structure so that they can properly execute the GFPs responsibilities.
　Through the curriculum including assignments and syndicate work as well as online lectures, and opinion exchange with students from other nations, CDR TAKIGAWA acquired knowledge and skills required for gender focal point （GFP）.
　Also, this course assessed capabilities of each student through group discussions and examinations, where she got the grade “successfully completed” meaning she achieved all Performance Objectives (POs) to pass the course.
　The JPC will reflect the expertise gained from this course in its future training.

An article of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) -Plus Experts’ Working Group (EWG) on PKO on April 6, 2021 was published in newspapers ‘Asagumo’ and ‘Bouei Home.’
　Click here for details of the activity.

On May 10, 2021, the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC) in conjunction with the International Policy Division of the Defense Policy Bureau held an online meeting with the PKO section head of the European Union’s Enhancing Security Cooperation in and with Asia (ESIWA) project.
　In this meeting aimed at enhancing cooperation between Japan and the EU, the PKO section head of the project, Dr. Philip Shetler-Jones briefed on the overview of ESIWA, then Lt. Col. NAKAI Akira outlined the JPC.
　Those briefings were followed by active opinion exchange on the areas where Japan-EU cooperation would be possible.
　The JPC will continue to proactively interact with relevant international organizations and reflect the results in its training and research.

An article of the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC) providing training support to the Jordanian Armed Forces on March 15 and 16, 2021 was published in newspapers ‘Asagumo’ and ‘Bouei Home.’
　Click here for details of the training.

On April 6, 2021, the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC) participated online in the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) -Plus Experts’ Working Group (EWG) on PKO.
　This working group was set up as one of seven EWGs under ADMM-Plus to practically tackle security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, and will be co-chaired by Vietnam and Japan for three years from 2021.
　The agenda this time was “WPS (Women, Peace and Security) in UN PKO” where participating countries and well-experienced experts shared their countries’ efforts and challenges through lively discussions.
　The JPC gave a presentation on lessons learned and challenges related to measures against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) which has been a problem in the field of PKOs, contributing to improvement of the other countries’ knowledge and understanding of WPS.
　The JPC will reflect the results of this meeting in its future training and research.

On March 15 and 16, 2021, at the request of the Jordanian Armed Forces, the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC) of the Joint Staff College, in conjunction with Director for Defense Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region, Defense Policy Bureau, took part online as lecturers in the international peace cooperation activities training hosted by the middle eastern nation’s forces.
　This training was conducted in English and based on the United Nations training materials, with Lt. Col. NAKAI Akira lecturing on “Principles of United Nations Peacekeeping and legal framework” on the first day, and Maj. OGAWA Akira on “Protection of civilian in the context of UNPKOs” the next day.
　It was the first time that the JPC had trained foreign military officers online, but the training was done in a lively atmosphere where participants actively asked questions and made comments.
The JPC will continue to actively provide support to training overseas.

On February 19, 2021, the Japan Peacekeeping Training and Research Center (JPC) participated online in the International Peace Cooperation Activities Seminar hosted by the International Peace Cooperation Activities Training Unit, Ground Self-Defense Force.
　This annual seminar is aimed at allowing the GSDF and civil organizations to share information on international operations and to promote mutual understanding and at enhancing knowledge and skills of the SDF personnel.
　This time, “The impact of covid-19 on international activities and the prospect of them in the aftermath of covid-19: Remote and diversified support through utilization of information and communication technology” was the theme of the seminar in light of the pandemic, and participants actively discussed and exchanged opinions on the matter.
　The JPC will reflect the results of the seminar in its training and research projects.