Group Classes
ICPA’s qualification programmes are conducted as intimate group classes. This page presents the Japanese Protocol tracks and the International Diplomatic Protocol, taught in English for members from overseas, together with their hybrid schedule of live online sessions and an optional immersion in Tokyo.
Learning Together
A group class at ICPA is far more than a course. Executives, diplomats, and members of distinguished families — each of a different path — gather under a shared aspiration to learn together.
Every class is kept deliberately small, with no more than ten members. And whilst you learn alongside others, the Founding Principal walks beside each member individually. The advisory relationship is preserved throughout, within the class and beyond it.
Learning together, guided individually.
The Value of Company
Programmes & Schedule
Our Japanese Protocol qualification is offered as a hybrid path: ten live online sessions of three hours, conducted in English, followed by an optional Japan Immersion of four days in Tokyo. Tuition is the same whether or not a member joins the Immersion.
| Track | Day | Morning Sitting | Evening Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese Social Protocol | Monday | 9:00–12:00 | 19:00–22:00 |
| Japanese Business Protocol | Wednesday | 9:00–12:00 | 19:00–22:00 |
| Japanese Diplomatic Protocol | Thursday | 9:00–12:00 | 19:00–22:00 |
| International Diplomatic Protocol | Tuesday | 9:00–12:00 | 19:00–22:00 |
◇ Ten sessions of three hours per track, held over one term
◇ A member joins either the morning or the evening sitting for the whole term
◇ Saturday is reserved for members resident in Japan
| Term | Online Sessions | Japan Immersion (optional) |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Term | Mid-January – mid-March | Early April |
| Summer Term | Early July – mid-September | Mid-to-late October |
◇ The Japan Immersion brings all four tracks together in Tokyo: the Imperial Palace, the State Guest House, table manners in practice, the examination, and the certification dinner
◇ Members who do not travel complete their examination by live stream, at the same time as the Immersion
◇ No live sessions are held during the Immersion week; the term resumes its usual sittings on either side of it
Members already enrolled for Autumn 2026 continue under the previous seven-day intensive format. This schedule applies from the Winter Term (January 2027) intake onward.
Applications must be completed three months before a term begins. For the Winter Term, apply by the end of the preceding September; for the Summer Term, by the end of the preceding March.
The Certification Ceremony
A dinner at the French restaurant
of a five-star hotel
Those who join the Japan Immersion are received at the certification ceremony, held as a dinner at the French restaurant of a five-star hotel and opened with a toast. The evening is itself an occasion to practise what has been learnt.
Members who complete their qualification online receive their certification upon passing the examination, and are warmly welcomed to join a future Immersion as a guest at the ceremony.
Beyond the Qualification
Those who obtain a qualification may publish their own profile upon the website of the International Protocol Accreditation Association (IPAA). Your standing is thereby recorded where it may be seen — by institutions, by prospective clients, and by the wider profession.
Advisory and mentoring from the Founding Principal continue thereafter, as they do for every member of the specialist family.
Admission & Enrolment
ICPA maintains small classes throughout. To preserve the quality of learning, the following applies.
Applications must be completed three months before a term begins.
- Each class is confirmed three months before it begins, and applications must therefore be completed by that time. Should the class be under-subscribed at that point, it will not proceed.
- Where a class does not proceed, you may transfer to private tuition or defer to the next term. As the continuity of your study is assured, fees are not refundable. A minimum of three members is required for a class to open.
- Each track opens twice a year: the Winter Term in January and the Summer Term in July.
- The Japan Immersion is optional. Tuition is the same whether or not a member joins it.
- Live sessions are held Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with a morning and an evening sitting; a member attends the same sitting throughout the term.
- Online tuition is exempt from Japanese consumption tax for those resident overseas. Where any portion of the tuition is received within Japan, consumption tax applies.
- Membership fees are shown and charged inclusive of consumption tax, whether you reside in Japan or overseas.
- No classes are held on public holidays, nor during the New Year, Golden Week, and Obon periods.
As a membership programme, further particulars are shared through our materials or an online briefing.
Four Steps
to Enrolment
Request Materials
Begin by requesting our materials. We will send full programme details, admission particulars, and the schedule.
Online Briefing
We present the programme and the path of study in an online briefing, and welcome your questions.
Application
You submit the required documents. As a membership programme, a selection process applies.
Enrolment
Upon acceptance, you complete enrolment and join your group class at its opening.
Begin with our materials
or a briefing
Programme details, the curriculum, and how to apply are shared through our materials.
As a membership programme, we invite you to begin with a request for materials or an online briefing.