The is the official civilian Counter-Terrorist unit under the Japanese National Police Agency. Like the GSG 9 and the SAS, most information on the unit has been confidential, its existence officially revealed only in 1996.
September 28, 1977 - First units were established in Tōkyō and Ōsaka as Special Armed Police (SAP) units.
January 26, 1979 - The SAP's Tokyo branch was deployed during the Mitsubishi Bank Hostage Incident in Osaka (Current Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank). It was the first shooting incident in Japan involving armed police officers.
1992 - SAP is dispatched to resolve a criminal incident in Machida City.
June 21, 1995 - All Nippon Airways 857 was hijacked at the Hakodate Airport; marking the first time that the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces cooperated with the SAP by providing Kawasaki C-1 aircraft as means of transportation from Haneda Airport. The plane was stormed by SAP officers and the hijacker was arrested and subdued. The Hokkaido Police's Riot Squad was also involved in the operation.
The incident had made National Police Agency (NPA) officials work for the establishment of the Special Assault Team
April 1, 1996 - The Special Assault Team (SAT) was established after a year's training with the GSG 9, GIGN and the British SAS .
During the Japanese embassy hostage crisis in Peru, the SAT had simulated raids on retaking buildings similar to the Japanese Embassy.
2000 - The SAT's Fukuoka and Osaka branches took part in recapturing a hijacked bus in Fukuoka in the Neomugicha incident.
2005 - NPA officials increased the SAT's manpower from 200 to 250 operators.
2006 - NPA officials increased the SAT's manpower from 250 to 300 operators.
Organisation
Locations
SAT operators work to retake a mock hijacked bus.
The Tōkyō branch, officially called "Special Operations Company" (特科中隊), is under 6th Mobile Unit, Security Department of Tōkyō Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁警備部第六機動隊). In Ōsaka Prefecture, it was created under the 2nd Mobile Unit (第二機動隊) and was unofficially called the "Zero Company" (零中隊).
Currently other branches exist in the prefectural Police departments of Hokkaidō, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Fukuoka and Okinawa. Nationwide SAT maintains about 300 personnel.
SAT operators conduct routine training in their own kill-house at certain prefectures in the Kanto region (Locations are believed to be classified). The SAT has also conduct joint training with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in order to maintain their state of readiness.
Structure
Each SAT division consists of a subduing group, the sniping group, the technical support group and the command section.
The subduing group leads the operation and the sniping group takes charge of sniping and reconnasaince. The technical support group is in charge of electronic equipment such as microphones and cameras. The command section is responsible for tactical planning.
Miscellaneous
Upon recruitment to the SAT, the officer's name is deleted from the roster of active police officers; this is done similarly to the British SAS and GSG 9 so as to protect them from being attacked by criminals or extremist groups, as well as being prosecuted.
SAT operators in the group's sniper division are trained to kill with precise headshots and reload in split seconds.
SAT operators are known to cooperate with the Special Security Team (SST), mostly in training exercises.
Equipment
Weapons
Assault Rifles
Howa Type 89 (Though it is said that the SAT has possessed a quantity of these rifles, they are not known to be used in any of the SAT's operations)
Submachine Guns
SAT platoon standing at attention. They are armed with Heckler and Koch MP5A5 submachine guns.
Smith and Wesson M3913 (Rumored to be in use by the Hokkaido SAT unit)
Support Items
Ballistic Helmet with faceshield
Ballistic Shield
Flashbang
Night Vision Goggles
Ranks
The following ranks are observed in the SAT:
Commander = Inspector
Team Captain = Assistant Inspector
Squad Leader = Sergeant
Areas of Responsibility (AOR)
Tokyo
The SAT Tokyo unit is responsible for the Haneda Airport and other facilities such as the Imperial Palace, the Prime Minister's residence or Kantei and the National Diet Building. The unit is also in charge of resolving situations involving any hostile act against foreign embassies.
Security for the Fukuoka Airport and the various foreign consulates are left to the Fukuouka SAT unit.
Okinawa
Various US Military installations, such as the Naha Military Port, and the Naha Airport are left to the responsibility of the Okinawa SAT unit.
In fiction
The SAT is seen in First President of Japan as they attempt to retake the Mihama nuclear power plant in the Fukui Prefecture from North Korean agents. Almost all are killed and the situation forces the JGSDF to deploy Red Card operatives in their place.
Seen in the early stages of Deleted Scenes in in the Japan stage. They are called Kidoutai, though this may be an error on the part of the developers. This was later omitted in the final version, though it could still be accessed.
An SAT operative can be used in the Lethal Enforcers stage of Lethal Enforcers 3.
One of the characters in Police 911 2 is an SAT operator armed with a Heckler and Koch MP5K Submachine gun.
In the PSP version of , Hiruma demands that Aramaki call on SAT operatives to Berutarube since he is convinced that terrorists are still in the area. Aramaki denies the request because he says that Section 9 is on the case.
A Japanese SWAT 3 MOD allows players to use an SAT assaulter skin. An SAT mod also exists for Counter-Strike.
SAT units are deployed in Tokyo's subway system in the movie Kôshônin Mashita Masayoshi (Negotiator Mashita Masayoshi) after a mad bomber hijacks a prototype train with passengers aboard as hostages.
In the animeElfen Lied, SAT forces are used to track down and capture Lucy/Nyu as the response of the Japanese government over their disappearance. Bandou is one of the fictional members of the SAT.
In Pokémon, the SAT has been featured in two instances:
SAT forces try to track down the Terrorists who attack the Rayquaza Tournament
The MARU (Mewtwo Armed Response Unit) are created to deal with Mewtwo threats. Their equipment and weapons look similar to the real-life GSG 9 and the SAT.
In the five-volume anime series The Analog Complex, SAT forces work with Vector 18 operatives to retake a Japanese military base taken over by terrorists from Azerbaijan.
In Ghost in the Shell Movie 1, SAT forces enter a building near the start of the film, only to be confronted by Major.
