For the first time ever, Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department formed a female-only security team to protect female dignitaries, and the squad’s first task is to guard Donald Trump’s daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka as well as his wife Melania.
Ivanka touched down in Japan yesterday (Nov. 2) and made a speech at an international conference on the empowerment of women and related issues—the World Assembly for Women, which was apparently poorly attended. Two days later Trump and first lady Melania are scheduled to arrive Nov. 5 for a three-day visit.
But while the female-only police force looks like good PR, especially since Ivanka is in Japan to talk about the empowerment of women, the squad would have minimal effect on dangerous criminals, or if one of the Trumps were in danger. They are dressed in smart black suits, instead of the body armor usually needed to guard against rioters. In a drill staged for the media yesterday, the officers blocked a woman rushing forth from a fictional crowd holding a gift for a female “VIP.”
Jonathan Wackrow, a former agent with United States Secret Service who was assigned to the presidential protection unit, told CNN that ”operationally, these support forces are minimal to the actual security program of the United States Secret Service. They aren’t relied on for any emergency action.”
He added that they are mainly there for “helping gain access, for help with language barriers and for general support.”