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Tokyo police send judo instructors to train Afghan cops
The Metropolitan Police Department has dispatched six officers to Turkey as judo instructors for Afghan policemen being trained there as part of Japanese aid to help secure public order in Afghanistan, the National Police Agency said on Thursday.
The Metropolitan Police Department has dispatched six officers to Turkey as judo instructors for Afghan policemen being trained there as part of Japanese aid to help secure public order in Afghanistan, the National Police Agency said on Thursday.
They will train about 500 Afghan officers from next Monday through October 7 at a training center opened by Turkish police in Sivas, central Turkey, under a program arranged by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, it said.
Among the MPD officers is Eiji Eifuku, the No. 3 judo instructor at the department, which is known for producing world-class judo exponents.
The six will begin by teaching the rules of judo and how to wear the judo uniform, since for most of the Afghan participants this will be their first contact with the martial art, agency officials said.
"We want them to learn the discipline and professional ethics of a policeman by acquiring the spirit of the martial art, which is said to start with a bow and end with a bow," a senior official said.
The dispatch of the officers comes at the request of the Turkish government.
Improving public order has been a major issue in Afghanistan since the Taliban regime collapsed in 2001.
