Japan hosted a gathering of senior enlisted service members from the Five Eyes intelligence partnership Wednesday, the first time a nonmember state has done so, in a move that highlights the growing cooperation between Tokyo and its Western allies amid shared concerns about a rapidly deteriorating international security environment.
The meeting with members from the grouping – comprising the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – took place as part of a broader conference held in Tokyo among senior enlisted personnel from across the Self-Defense Forces.
“We saw a great opportunity to invite the Five Eyes nations to this SDF gathering so that our enlisted leaders can broaden their understanding of the situation in other countries,” Air Self-Defense Force Chief Warrant Officer Osamu Kai, who represented Japan at the gathering, told the Japan Times, adding that another key goal was to promote Japan’s vision of a Free and Open Indo Pacific.