Overseas Research Visits Conducted in Estonia, Finland, and the Republic of Korea
(Enhancing the Foundation for Human Resource Base of Defense Capabilities)

The General Affairs and Networking Program of Japan-U.S. and Security Studies Unit of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation conducted overseas research in Estonia and Finland from December 6 to 13, 2025, and in the Republic of Korea from January 31 to February 6, 2026, under the Study Group “Security Strategy Studies (Strengthening the Human Resource Base)”, chaired by Mr. Tetsuro Kuroe, former Administrative Vice-Minister of Defense. This study group is one of the study groups established within "Security Strategy Studies Project" (FY2024-2025).

The study group aims to formulate policy recommendations to strengthen the human resource base of Japan’s defense capabilities. Following overseas research conducted in Germany, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Australia in FY2024, the group carried out exchanges of views and site visits in Estonia, Finland, and the Republic of Korea in FY2025.

In Estonia, the delegation visited the Ministry of Defence, the Estonian Defence Forces, and the Estonian Defence League (EDL), a volunteer-based civil defence organization. The delegation also exchanged views with Dr. Eleri Lillemäe of the Estonian Military Academy and with Mr. Rainer Järvela of the Reserve Forces Service Department of the Defence Resources Agency.

In Finland, visits were made to the Ministry of Defence, the National Defence University (NDU), the National Defence Training Association (MPK), the Oak Leave Heritage Foundation, a veterans-related organization, the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI), and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA). The delegation also conducted site visits to the Suomenlinna Museum, the Media Museum and Archives Merkki, and the Merihaka Civil Defence Shelter.

In the Republic of Korea, the group visited the Ministry of National Defense, the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS), and the Korea Special Information Certification Institute, which develops and operates the mobile application “Milipass” for military personnel. The group also held discussions with Captain Lee Hee-wan, former Vice Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. In addition, site visits were conducted to the War Memorial of Korea, the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall, the Memorial Hall for Incheon Landing Operation, and historical military sites on Jeju Island.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all representatives of the organizations visited in each country for their generous cooperation in conducting this overseas research. We also extend our deep appreciation to Mr. Koichiro Nakamura, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of Estonia; Mr. Takashi Okada, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Finland; and Mr. Koichi Mizushima, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of Korea. We are also deeply grateful to Lieutenant Colonel Minako Iyono, Defense Attaché in Estonia; Colonel Seiichiro Tomemori, former Defense Attaché in Finland; and Captain Hirofumi Inoue, former Defense Attaché in the Republic of Korea, for their invaluable support in the implementation of this research.

The study group plans to continue its examination of policies to strengthen the human foundations of Japan’s defense capability under “Security Strategy Studies II” in FY2026, and aims to release the second set of policy recommendations around the summer of 2026.