About the Association
An independent
certifying authority
The International Protocol Accreditation Association was founded in Tokyo in 2020. We examine and certify professional competence in international protocol, and we do so as an independent body.
Where an institution both instructs and assesses, its assessments invite doubt. For that reason this association stands apart from any teaching body and confines itself to examination and accreditation. We do not ask where a candidate has studied. Those who have prepared alone, and those who have trained elsewhere, are received on the same footing.
Certificates have been issued in both Japanese and English from the outset. They serve as evidence of knowledge and judgement that holds abroad as well as at home, and they form a sound foundation for a professional life.
What we set out to do
Protocol has long been spoken of as though one civilisation set the standard for all. But a practice that exists to join the world cannot take a single culture as its measure and still call itself international.
The protocol we certify does not take any one nation’s practice as its measure. It holds the customs of every culture as equal in standing. What we assess is not conformity to a single code, but the judgement to move well between many.
Our purpose is to set a standard worth holding, and to recognise those who meet it — wherever in the world they happen to work.
The association
| Name | International Protocol Accreditation Association 国際プロトコール認定協会 |
| Founded | 2020, Tokyo |
| Purpose | Examination and accreditation in international protocol |
| Disciplines | Six, across the international and Japan series, with specialist accreditation beyond |
| Languages | Japanese and English |
| Administered by | ICPA International Protocol Co., Ltd. Marunouchi Trust Tower N 19F, 1-8-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan |
| Enquiries | office@ipa-a.com |
Where to begin
Review what we certify, or read the thinking behind this association.