Maj. Gen. Yoshiro Tanaka, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Inspector General, visited U.S. Army Inspector General Lt. Gen. Donna W. Martin at her office in the Pentagon on March 6.
Martin gave Tanaka an overview of the U.S. Army Inspector General system and discussed matters of importance to both nations, including worldwide security threats.
“I am pleased that we were able to share our understanding of the severe security environment in East Asia, including Japan, and to reaffirm that we can improve our respective inspectors' capabilities through such exchanges,” Tanaka said.
Martin said, “Japan is one of our closest allies, and it’s important that we share information and experience on a peer-to-peer level. The more we learn from each other, the closer we operate together in the defense of our shared values and goals.”
Martin also described the Organizational Inspection Program, which is mandatory at all battalion-level and higher echelons within the U.S. Army. The OIP is a commander’s program to ensure his or her unit’s readiness remains at a high level.
They also talked about the recent attendance of JGSDF Lt. Col. Koichi Ogata at the Inspector General School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Ogata audited the basic IG course in late 2022. His attendance had been delayed more than two years by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am very pleased that we were able to resume the Japan-U.S. Inspector General Exchange Program, which had been suspended due to the COVID pandemic,” Tanaka said.
Martin and Tanaka agreed to explore sending more JGSDF personnel to the Inspector General School in the future.
Tanaka visited the school on March 7, where he was met by Col. Scott Kirkpatrick, the school’s commandant. Kirkpatrick and his staff took Tanaka on a tour of the school and briefed him on the curriculum and Army IG history.
“Our continual engagement with international IG senior leaders is critical to our effort to articulate how and why we train and educate our IG Corps in the manner we do. This dialogue allows us to not only provide our best practices for curriculum delivery, but also to garner innovative educational ideas from our allies and partners.” Kirkpatrick said.
Tanaka also visited with the Marine Corps inspector general during his visit.
Martin will visit with Tanaka again in early May when she visits U.S. Army Japan.
“I look forward to continuing to work with LTG Martin to strengthen cooperation between the U.S. and Japanese inspectors general. I look forward to seeing (her) again in Japan in May,” Tanaka said.
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