Misplaced Pages

#488511

42-694: The SAT is officially known in Japanese as simply Special Unit ( 特殊部隊 , Tokushu Butai ) and individual teams officially take the name of the police to which they are assigned; an example would be the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Special Unit ( 警視庁特殊部隊 , Keishicho Tokushu Butai , Metropolitan Police Department Special Unit) for the SAT unit assigned to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department . By

84-488: A murder–suicide . In 2014, the chief of Kamata Police Station in Ōta was disciplined after a police officer assigned there committed suicide following severe workplace harassment . The TMPD is under the command of a Superintendent-General and reports directly to the Tokyo Metropolitan Public Safety Commission. The Superintendent-General can be appointed and replaced at any time as long as

126-620: A hijacked bus in Fukuoka in the Neomugicha incident , capturing the lone hijacker alive. Due to the self-defense requirements as stipulated in the Law Concerning Execution of Duties of Police Officials, it took more than 15 hours for the hostage crisis to end. Stun grenades were used in the operation. In September 2003, the Aichi SAT unit was deployed to resolve a hostage incident. However,

168-674: A lone hijacker named Fumio Kutsumi ( 九津見 文雄 ) . This incident marked the first time that the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces cooperated with the SAP by providing Kawasaki C-1 aircraft as means of transportation from Haneda Airport. SAP officers assisted Hokkaido Prefectural Police officers in storming the plane. In May 2000, the Osaka and Fukuoka SAT assisted detectives of the Hiroshima Prefectural Police when they stormed

210-650: A staff of more than 40,000 police officers and over 2,800 civilian personnel. The TMPD is headed by a Superintendent-General, who is appointed by the National Public Safety Commission and approved by the Prime Minister . It manages 10 divisions and 102 stations across the Metropolis. The TMPD's headquarters are located in Kasumigaseki , Chiyoda , Tokyo . Built in 1980, it is 18 stories tall, and

252-465: A tactical assault course) in 1975 the unit became operational and immediately started a mission against the left wing terrorist organization NAP ("Nuclei Armati Proletari", Proletarian Armed Service). Later they operated against the right-wing group "New Order", which resulted in the arrests of well-known terrorists Gentile Schiavone and Pierluigi Concutelli. In 1978, the Italian government decided to modify

294-634: Is Sicut Nox Silentes (As Silent as Night). In 1982 under the tactical command of Captain Edoardo Perna a 12-man section, without firing a single shot, freed Brigadier General James Dozier , who had been held hostage by Red Brigades terrorists. In the following years NOCS expanded in size and capabilities and under new command, then Major Maurizio Genolini, became a full-fledged counter-terrorism unit, with capabilities of operations on aircraft, trains, buses, embassies, and stadium areas and established good relations with several counter-terrorism units in

336-581: Is a large wedge-shaped building with a cylindrical tower. The HQ building is located opposite of Sakurada Gate , so it is also metonymically called "Sakurada Gate". The TMPD was established by Japanese statesman Kawaji Toshiyoshi in 1874. Kawaji, who had helped establish the earlier rasotsu in 1871 following the disestablishment of the Edo period police system , was part of the Iwakura Mission to Europe , where he gathered information on Western policing; he

378-672: Is sometimes released to reporters. There are also exchanges with overseas police forces, at least with joint training with the German GSG 9 . 10 SAT officers were placed under training by Queensland Police's Specialist Service Branch in Queensland, Australia. The SAT does joint exercises with the SFGp. The SAT also conducted joint training in 2014 with the Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza . In addition to standard service handguns ,

420-722: Is the police tactical unit of the Polizia di Stato , one of Italy 's national police forces. It operates under the command of the Direzione Centrale della Polizia di Prevenzione (English: Central Directorate for the Anti-Terrorism Police ). In 1974 the Chief of the Polizia di Stato Anti-Terrorism Bureau, Emilio Santillo, announced the necessity to establish a tactical unit with the capability to arrest known terrorists and to support

462-669: The Dhaka Incident , the National Police Agency decided to set up full-time anti-terrorism special units at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Osaka Prefectural Police Department in secret. The Tokyo unit was established as the Special Company ( 特科中隊 , Tokka-chūtai ) of its 6th Riot Police Unit and the Osaka unit as the "Zero" Company of its 2nd Riot Police Unit. The Tokyo unit

SECTION 10

#1732885111489

504-744: The Gulf Crisis of 1990, the SAP unit was dispatched to Saudi Arabia for non-combatant evacuation operation . During the Japanese embassy hostage crisis in Peru, the SAT had simulated raids on retaking buildings similar to the Japanese Embassy as a possible counter-measure to a similar incident on Japanese soil. On June 21, 1995, All Nippon Airways Flight 857 was hijacked at the Hakodate Airport in Hokkaido by

546-667: The MPD and Osaka teams, additional teams for the Hokkaido , Kanagawa , Chiba , Aichi , and Fukuoka Prefectural Police were also established. In 2005, a team of the Okinawa Prefectural Police was established, and existing units were also reinforced. SAT teams are set up at eight prefectural police agencies. In most prefectures they belong to the Riot Police Unit, but in the MPD it is directly under its First Security Division, and

588-642: The Osaka Prefectural Police had its first known incident on January 26, 1979 when they were deployed during a Mitsubishi Bank hostage incident in Osaka. In the incident, they shot dead Akiyoshi Umekawa after he gunned down two employees and two policemen . As the SWAT ability of other departments improved, the SAT became the "last ditch" of the Security Bureau of the National Police Agency , and opportunities to conduct direct domestic action decreased. In

630-563: The SAP units used Heckler & Koch P9 S pistols as their main sidearms. After being reorganized into the SAT, usage of Heckler & Koch USP and Smith & Wesson Model 3913 have been confirmed, there is information that Glock 19 , SIG Sauer P226 and Beretta 92 Vertec are adopted. The SAT used Heckler & Koch MP5 A5, MP5SD6, MP5K submachine guns . There is also information that SAT units have adopted Howa Type 89 assault rifles and M4 carbines . The Howa Golden Bear , then M1500 as their sniper rifle . The Howa Type 64 rifle

672-692: The Security Bureau, but some are transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the criminal investigation department to introduce their SWAT-based tactics for the department. Although SAT training is enigmatic, a retired SAP member recalled that Airborne Ranger Courses of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force , counter-insurgency , and air assault training had been conducted. Nowadays, SAT has training facilities in six locations nationwide, and training at Yumenoshima

714-645: The Security Division in the Osaka. Total strength is about 300 officers. It is said that three teams in the Metropolitan Police Department, two teams in the Osaka Prefectural Police Department, and one team in each of the other Prefectural Police are set up. Each team consists of a command section , an entry section, a sniper support section, and a technical support section. Members are recruited from Riot Police Units. When

756-650: The Special Boarding Unit. In June 2021, the SAT was deployed on a training operation to practice anti-terrorist operations in Tokyo as part of Tokyo Olympics security. When Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Japan during the 49th G7 summit , SAT operators participated as part of his protection detail in consideration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine . On May 25, 2023, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police's SAT unit

798-555: The TMPD announced the establishment of the Water Response Team in order to police bodies of water near G20 summit venues. In 1978, the TMPD was investigated when a uniformed officer killed a female university student inside her residence. In 1997, an officer was caught falsifying evidence in an amphetamine investigation. In 2007, the TMPD was under scrutiny when a serving TMPD officer used his officially-issued firearm to commit

840-489: The TMPD was limited to the 23 wards of Tokyo , but the "Metropolitan" part of the name remained. Police firefighting duties were also split off to independent fire departments , with the TMPD's Fire Bureau developing into the Tokyo Fire Department in 1948. However, issues concerning manpower and efficiency among smaller and spread out municipalities arose, so in 1954 the amended Police Law ( 警察法 , Keisatsu-hō )

882-534: The end of World War II , the TMPD was placed under Allied control in occupied Japan . The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers viewed the existing Japanese police system as undemocratic and sought to reform it, so in 1947 the Old Police Law ( 旧警察法 , Kyū keisatsu-hō ) was passed, decentralizing Japanese police and reorganizing them into municipal police and rural police ; as a municipal police force,

SECTION 20

#1732885111489

924-469: The hostage-taker Noboru Beppu ( 別府 昇 ) committed suicide in an explosion which killed three and injured 41 others. On September 10, 2005, Okinawa was established for a SAT unit to be operational. According to the NPA, the presence of American troops and the region's geography were taken into consideration in creating a unit to be stationed there, especially after Al-Qaeda had made terrorist threats against Japan in

966-449: The local counter-terrorism field office. Personnel were selected from Police Sports Group " Fiamme Oro ("Gold Flames"), particularly trained in martial arts . The 35-man team was denominated "counter-commando unit" and commanded by Maj. Andrea Sgandurra, an officer with counter-insurgency experiences, and a skilled proponent of hand-to-hand combat skills. After one year of training (offensive driving, sniping, various shooting skills, and

1008-586: The mid-1970s, Japanese law enforcement already established the Special Firearms Squad ( 特殊銃隊 , Tokushu Jūtai ) , part-time sniper squads being launched as a response to the Kin Kiro Incident in 1968. Assault sections were later established in some urban squads; these squads were predecessors of the Anti-firearms squads , but they were only part-time SWAT teams at this time. In response to

1050-452: The operational unit of the department, one of the first cases in European law enforcement where a woman is recruited in a police-tactical unit. Today, SOD/NOCS have three tactical assault teams and one protection division. All operatives have HALO jump training, explosive ordnance disposal training, sniper and combat shooting. Several operatives have scuba diving training as well. SOD has

1092-456: The past. In May 2007, in a hostage crisis case in Nagoya , an ex-yakuza gangster named Hisato Obayashi ( 大林 久人 ) was captured after he killed Kazuho Hayashi ( 林 一歩 ) , an Aichi SAT operative. Prior to shooting Hayashi, Obayashi shot a uniformed officer who was called in to respond to a domestic violence incident at 4 in the afternoon. The Aichi SIT was in charge with the Aichi SAT assisting, but

1134-637: The prefectural police criminal investigation department, assisting the police chief and coordinating liaison with the National Police Agency Security Bureau. On December 14, 2007, a shooting spree occurred at the Renaissance Sports Club in Sasebo , Nagasaki , when Masayoshi Magome used a shotgun to kill two persons and wound six others. The Nagasaki Prefectural Police Anti-Firearms Squad and Fukuoka SAT were sent in to intervene in

1176-681: The prime minister and the TMPSC receives their approval. Since the TMPD is autonomous, it does not operate under the authority of any Regional Police Bureau. The TMPD has nine bureaus that report to the Deputy Superintendent General: The TMPD also operates its own academy, the Metropolitan Police Academy . The ranks used in the TMPD have been slightly revised in 2013, changing only the English translation of some of

1218-474: The ranks used by the force. Otherwise, these ranks have been observed throughout its history. (Note that Deputy Superintendent-General is, strictly speaking, a post rather than a rank). 35°40′37″N 139°45′08″E  /  35.67694°N 139.75222°E  / 35.67694; 139.75222 Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza Andrea Mainardi The Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza (NOCS) (English: Central Security Task Group )

1260-527: The shooting. On February 9, 2015, Japanese media suggested that the SAT can potentially be dispatched to work alongside officers from the Terrorism Response Team-Tactical Wing for Overseas. On December 22, 2015, TMPD and Kanagawa SAT units have conducted joint exercises in the wake of the upcoming G7 summit. The SAT was deployed in May 2016 at the 42nd G7 summit , providing security alongside

1302-603: The stray bullets hit the SAT operative. Hayashi, an inspector in the Aichi Prefectural Police, was the first SAT officer to be killed in action . His death forced National Public Safety Commission Chairman Kensei Mizote to issue a press report, stating that SAT equipment would be checked to see if it was responsible for Hayashi's death. The SAT Support Staff (SSS) was created in the wake of the hostage taking in Aichi Prefecture. They are in charge of coordinating with

Special Assault Team - Misplaced Pages Continue

1344-521: The structure of the Anti-Terrorist Bureau to improve its capabilities. This change resulted in the formation of SISMI (military intelligence), SISDE (civilian intelligence), and a police counter-terrorism agency (Ufficio Centrale per le Investigazioni Generali e le Operazioni Speciali (UCIGOS) also known as the Central Office for General Investigations and Special Operations). This office

1386-403: The unit was founded, the members were selected from rangers, rescue specialists, snipers and martial artists. It is said that they will be subject to inspection and inspection for officers under 30 years old. In order to maintain physical strength, the period of service is assumed to be approximately 5 years. SAT operators who are due to end their post are usually transferred to other departments in

1428-411: The well-established United States Secret Service . This relationship sparked the creation of a unit similar in form and function to United States Secret Service counter-terrorism teams as well. VIP protection is not a main mission for NOCS, but they are responsible for this duty when high-risk personalities come to Italy . In 2017, NOCS revealed that a female operator, known as "Marta", became part of

1470-610: The western world. Recently, NOCS has undergone another change and become the Anti-Terrorism Special Operations Division. The unit improved capabilities in C3I and a computer and video section was added. NOCS was innovative regarding the incorporation of computers in training formalizing this with the addition of a separate video section. NOCS also expanded its training in VIP protection and driving, augmented by training with

1512-502: Was also used as designated marksman rifles . Later on, the Heckler & Koch PSG1 and L96A1 also have been deployed. SAT teams operate special Heavy Special Armored Vehicle ( 銃器対策警備車 , Jūki-taisaku-keibi-sha ) and unmarked bulletproof cars. The first units stood up in the 1970s had its operators forced to initially purchase tactical equipment with their own money through mail-in ads in military magazines. The "Zero" Company of

1554-647: Was deployed during the 2023 Nagano attack based on requests from the Nagano Prefectural Police (NPP). Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department ( TMPD ) ( 警視庁 , Keishichō ) , known locally as simply the Metropolitan Police Department ( MPD ), is the prefectural police of Tokyo Metropolis , Japan . Founded in 1874, the TMPD is the largest police force in Japan by number of officers, with

1596-517: Was mostly inspired by the police of France , especially the National Gendarmerie on which the rasotsu were based. On 9 January 1874, the TMPD was established as part of the Home Ministry , with Kawaji serving as its first Superintendent-General. By the 1880s, the police had developed into a nationwide instrument of government control, and their increasing involvement in political affairs

1638-514: Was nicknamed SAP (Special Armed Police), and it was recognized as the official name around 1982 and the flag was awarded. Several SAP officers were sent to West Germany to be trained by GSG-9 operators due to their experience in resolving the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 . They were instructed on using MP5s, which they first used in the 1980s. In 1996, it was officially announced that the tactical units had been organized, and their unit name were changed to SAT, Special Assault Teams. In addition to

1680-523: Was one of the foundations of the authoritarian state in the Empire of Japan during the first half of the 20th century. By the 1920s and 1930s, police across Japan, including the TMPD, were responsible not only for law enforcement and public security , but also firefighting , labor dispute mediation, censorship , upholding public morality , issuing permits, and government regulation of businesses, construction, and public health . When Japan surrendered at

1722-657: Was passed, reunifying the police into prefectural divisions under the National Police Agency ; as part of the amendment, the TMPD regained jurisdiction over the Tokyo metropolitan area. In 2017, the TMPD established the Cyber Attack Countermeasures Center, consisting of 100 officers from the Cyber Attack Special Investigation Unit, originally from the PSB. To prepare for the G20 summit in 2019,

Special Assault Team - Misplaced Pages Continue

1764-525: Was the only one responsible for Italian counter-terrorism. The UCIGOS's tactical unit became the NOCS ( Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza , Central Security Operations Service), the old counter-commando unit with far more operatives, training, and responsibilities. During its 22 years of existence, NOCS has performed more than 4,500 missions and 205 arrests. The 25–42 operatives studied terrorist methodology and created innovative tactics and procedures. Their motto

#488511