The Primary Course is designed to prepare early career professionals in peacebuilding, international development and related fields to work with competence and agility. The FY2025 Primary Course combines online pre-training in October 2025 and in-person training from November 3 – 30, 2025 in Tokyo and Hiroshima, Japan. Around 25 participants from Japan and other countries will participate in the course. Non-Japanese participants from Armenia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ecuador, Guatemala, Iraq, Nepal, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, Timor-Leste, and the African Union Commission (AUC) are invited to apply (please note that for AUC, the application process is not open to the public and depends on arrangements with AUC).
Click here to download the “Call for Applications for the FY2025 Primary Course (Non-Japanese Applicants)”.
Course Dates
- October 2025 (2 sessions online): Program Associates will participate in 2 online preparatory sessions, where they will be introduced to each other and be given a pre-training assignment.
- November 3-7, 2025 (Week 1): Program Associates will meet in Tokyo and start their training on fundamental aspects of peacebuilding, development and the United Nations.
- November 8-30, 2025 (Weeks 2-4): Training will be delivered in person, mainly at the Higashi-Hiroshima campus of Hiroshima University in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Participation Fees
The costs of the in-person training in Japan will be covered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (travel fees between the country of residence and Japan; travel within Japan; travel insurance; accommodation; and a daily allowance to cover other expenses). Please note that participants may need some additional money to cover miscellaneous expenses. Further details will be shared with the applicants after they apply.
Qualifications
- A strong will to work in the field of peacebuilding and/or international development in the future
- At least three years of work experience in peacebuilding and/or development-related fields (e.g., law, public administration, economic development, education, public health, logistics support, IT and digital science, human resources, communications and media, environment, project management, etc.)
- A university degree (Bachelor’s degree) or equivalent
- Aged between 27 and 39 years as of April 1, 2025
- English proficiency equivalent to scores of or above 90 on TOEFL iBT, 900 on TOEIC or 6.5 on IELTS (candidate must have 6.5 in all sections of IELTS, namely Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking)
- Health condition suitable for participation in the program and the ability to attend the entire duration of the Course.
How to Apply
- First fill in the online form from the link below with your basic information.
https://forms.office.com/r/VkmkaULgdx - You will be sent an email with the Supplementary Application Form attached. Fill in this form and send it back to gpad-primary@office.hiroshima-u.ac.jp, together with a Certificate of English proficiency (a certificate or score sheet of an English proficiency test such as TOEFL, TOEIC, or IELTS, taken in the last five years). A photocopy is acceptable. In cases where the applicant cannot submit such a document, applicants may submit a “Recommendation Letter on Candidate’s English Language Proficiency” from someone who can attest to the applicant’s language level.
- First fill in the online form from the link below with your basic information.
Deadline for Application
- Deadline for online application: Monday July 7 (5 pm Japan time)
- Deadline for sending Supplementary Application Form and language certificates: Friday July 11, 2025 (9 am Japan time)
For more information, please read the “Call for Applications for the FY2025 Primary Course (Non-Japanese Applicants)”.